Unlimited Sky (Rewrite in Progress)
by Crimson-Moon-Beams
Summary: Shichiyou Hitohana was just a normal soul living in the Soul Society, when one night she suddenly discovers that she has the abilities of a Soul Reaper. How will Shichiyou last in the Soul Academy with no fighting background and more enemies than allies?
1. Prologue: Soul Society

**Title Unknown**

**Chapter One: The Soul Society**

"Hurry this way!" Kabashi Hitohana called to the rest of his family. They were running down the side street that would lead to the main city square. Soft flakes of snow fell from the sky. _The first snow of the year_, a four-year old Shichiyou Hitohana thought to herself as her mother, Shida, pulled her along while carrying her two-year old sister Asagao in her free arm. Shichiyou couldn't admire the snow for long because her and her family were running. For their very lives they were running. Shichiyou was scared, but she knew better than to show it. She had to be strong, for her family.

"Dad this way!" A six-year old Ryuukyuukei called. Kabashi made a quick turn and followed his son down a back alley with Shida following behind with Asagao and Shichiyou. They ran out the alley and finally into the main square. They looked around gasping for air. Not that they needed it, they had all died in a car crash almost a month ago. Now, however, their souls were on the line and they needed to get away.

There was suddenly a loud crash and the Hitohana family turned sharply around to see a giant dent in the side of a building. Kabashi grabbed his son's hand and bolted away from the square.

"Kabashi where are we going?!" Shida yelled.

"I don't know, but we can't let it hurt anyone else! Just keep running!" He called back. They continued to rush forward. Suddenly Shichiyou tripped and fell to the ground.

"Shichiyou!" Her mother called turning back around. _Why did I have to be clumsy _now?! Shichiyou thought angrily to herself. She slowly got to her feet and prepared to run again when something huge landed right behind her. Shichiyou turned and sheer horror crossed her small face. She began to shake all over. It was the first time Shichiyou had been so scared in her entire life.

The hollow smiled a wicked smile at the small girl.

"You should make a delicious appetizer." It whispered menacingly.

"Shichiyou look out!" Her mother called, tears choking her voice. The hollow was huge, almost 50 times Shichiyou's size. It had a fin on its back, long lanky legs and arms, and a horribly terrifying white mask with searching, hungry yellow eyes. It looked like a fish that had legs and arms. The hollow suddenly lunged at Shichiyou.

"Give me your soul!" It screamed. Shichiyou found a voice inside her and screamed at the top of her lungs. She ducked just as the hollow reached her. It caught her long hair in its mouth and held on. Shichiyou continued to scream.

"Mommy, daddy help!" She wailed while streams of tears fell down her face. She heard her mother break down into tears and her father struggling to keep Ryuukyuukei from getting close to the hollow. Shichiyou opened her eyes and stared down at her family. She was only four, but she knew this was it, she was going to be eaten by this horrible creature, but if it kept her family safe then she would sacrifice herself. Shichiyou went limp.

"Given up? Or did I already break your neck? I hope not, it's not as enjoyable to eat a soul that doesn't give me a few screams." The hollow growled.

"You bastard!" Kabashi screamed. Shichiyou closed her eyes and braced for the hollow to eat her. The hollow just smiled and was about to consume Shichiyou's soul when the sound of a knife cutting through the air sounded out. Shichiyou felt herself come loose and when she opened her eyes she was flying through the air in the arms of a man with long black hair and deep black eyes. When he landed he let Shichiyou down and she ran to her mother. Shida burst into new tears and grabbed her daughter in a strong embrace, like she didn't want to ever let her go again.

"Captain Byakuya…" A voice said walking up to the man with black hair. He was tall and wore a black kosode and haori with black hakama.

"Stay back, I can handle this one myself." He said in a quiet but stern voice. Shichiyou watched the man with wide eyes as he faced the creature.

"You'll pay for interrupting my snack, soul reaper." The hollow said with pure malice. The man, Byakuya, just stared at the hollow with no emotion in his dark eyes. The hollow glared, let out a horrible scream, and lunged at Byakuya.

"Look out-" Shichiyou was starting to say but before she could finish Byakuya pulled out a long katana and brought it down on the hollow's head. He pulled it down, cutting the mask in half. The hollow screamed and then disappeared. Shichiyou stared in awe at the man standing before her. He turned around, sheathed his katana, and looked down at the family of ghosts.

"Forgive me," he said, "for cutting off your hair, I had no other choice." Shichiyou suddenly came out of her trance and brought a hand up to the back of her head. Most of her long hair was gone, all that was left were short, uneven bristles.

"I-it's ok." She whispered not looking him straight in the eyes.

"Captain, are we performing a Konso?" Another man asked suddenly. Byakuya turned to him.

"Yes, come, I want to do these Konsos at the same time." Byakuya said. He walked forward, towards Shichiyou. Four other men in the black outfits stepped forward.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Shida asked protectively. She pulled Shichiyou closer to her.

"There is nothing to worry about. We're just going to perform a Konso, a soul burial, and send you all to a wonderful place known as the Soul Society." One of the men said with a smile. Shichiyou smiled back weakly. Kabashi and Ryuukyuukei walked forward and stood beside Shida, Shichiyou, and Asagao. The five men pulled out their katanas. They turned them around so that the ends of the handles were aimed at the family's foreheads.

"See you in the Soul Society." Byakuya said quietly and brought his katana handle down on Shichiyou's forehead. Her eyes went blank and black butterflies surrounded her and the rest of her family.

Before they knew what was happening the family was traveling through a tunnel of bright lights and waves of stars. It was almost as if they were flying through space and time itself. Shichiyou looked around. The lights were amazing. Shichiyou looked at her family. Her mother and father were staring straight ahead with blank expressions on their faces, almost like they were in a trance. Ryuukyuukei looked at Shichiyou and they stared at each other in amazement. Asagao was too busy staring around taking everything in with wide eyes to notice. Suddenly Shichiyou turned and saw a shooting star coming towards her. She reached out and grabbed it without thinking and her entire body tingled.

Suddenly her hand started to move on its own and she suddenly pushed the star into her own body.

"Shichiyou what are you doing?!" Ryuukyuukei asked. He was whispering, like he was trying to keep from waking someone up.

"I don't know. It was like the star came at me. I had to grab it." Shichiyou explained staring at her hand. Her entire body was tingling and glowed faintly. Ryuukyuukei looked up as a star came to him, and another sped towards Asagao. They both reached out and the same thing happened to them. They all looked at each other and then the tunnel finally came to an end in a rush of bright light. Shichiyou opened her eyes and found she and the rest of her family were standing in front of two gigantic yellow doors. Shichiyou stared at them with eyes wide. No one moved.

"Mommy…" Shichiyou whispered tugging her mom's sleeve.

"Shh." Her mother said quickly. Shichiyou fell silent and hid behind her mother's back.

"Why are you just standing there?" Shichiyou tensed and looked behind her to see Byakuya approaching them. He walked past them and towards the doors. Without thinking Shichiyou started to follow him.

"Shichiyou…"Her mother said but Kabashi stopped her. He started to follow, Ryuukyuukei at his heels. Shida eventually gave up and started to follow. They came up behind Byakuya who stood in front of the giant doors. Shichiyou clutched to her mother's arm for dear life, she was terrified. Byakuya stopped in front of the doors. Without a word or even a knock they suddenly started to open. Slowly the huge doors creaked open before them. Shichiyou looked in but all she could see was a bright light shining in front of her. Finally the doors opened enough for them to walk in. Byakuya turned and lifted an uninterested arm.

"Welcome, to the Soul Society."


	2. Chapter One: Awakening

Shichiyou slowly opened her eyes. Sunlight was streaming into her window and she could hear birds singing outside. She sat up in bed and stretched. It had been a long time since she had that dream. Weird that she would have it twelve years after the actual incident. Shichiyou lifted herself out of bed and walked downstairs. It was still very early and the sun had only started to rise. Her mother, father, sister, and brother wouldn't be out of bed for another little while.

Shichiyou entered the kitchen and put on an apron. She started the stove and pulled out some pans preparing to make breakfast. She grabbed a handful of eggs and a plate full of bacon and put it on the pan. The bacon sizzled and the eggs started to turn from a clear liquid to a white solid.

"Morning." Shichiyou turned around to see her mother walking down the stairs. Shichiyou's mother was 42, 5'0" and could hardly care less. She had light brown hair that she always tied back in a tight bun with a few stray strands falling over her forehead. She always wore a traditional brown yukata with a purple obi and had bright silver eyes. She had a few wrinkles appearing around her eyes and mouth but it didn't affect her looks in any way. The wrinkles actually made her look even more sophisticated than she already was.

"Morning mom. How many eggs and bacon would you like?" Shichiyou asked watching the food cook.

"Two eggs and no bacon for me." Shichiyou's mother replied sitting down at the table.

"Great more for me." Ryuukyuukei said smoothly as he came into the kitchen. Ryuukyuukei was Shichiyou's older brother. He was also one of the most good-looking guys in the neighbourhood, which often left him being chased around by girls. He was the tallest member of the family at 5'11" and had kind gray eyes. His hair is a dark, chocolate brown and long so he often wears it in a loose pony-tail tied with a thin white ribbon. His bangs fall over his left eye and he curls them under his chin. He was already dressed in his black yukata and white sash and looked as handsome as always.

"Good morning." Shichiyou said with a smile. He smiled back with his usual kind smile and sat down. Shichiyou's mother suddenly sat up and walked over to the stove.

"Go get dressed sweetheart I'll make breakfast."

"Mom, are you sure…?" Shichiyou asked.

"Oh please, cooking is the one thing in this house I am good at. Now go on and get dressed." Her mother said shooing her away. Shichiyou smiled and went back up to her room. She had a fast shower, got dressed, and stood in front of her full-body mirror. She stared at her small stature. She was slender, but that was about all she had going for her. Shichiyou stared at her reflection. 4'6", slender, smooth but plain face, pale ivory skin…she really had nothing special about her. Unless, of course, you counted her hair and eyes. Her eyes she had inherited from both her mother and father, but no one could understand how her hair had changed to the colour it was.

Shichiyou's gray-blue eyes twinkled in the dim sunlight and her silver-blue hair shined. It was such an odd colour, but she adored it. She turned her head to the side. Her hair was still short, she had kept it that way since it had been cut off twelve years ago. She let it grow back slightly and then flipped it at the back into small but curved spikes. Shichiyou did let two strands grow and they just hung loosely just above her chest.

Shichiyou smiled at her reflection. It was no surprise why her name meant "moon". Shichiyou brushed the two strands (the only part of her hair she really needed to worry about) and went to look out her window. She opened it and took in a deep breath of fresh air. The small peonies she grew on her windowsill danced in the spring breeze.

Shichiyou turned her attention away from the calm spring day when she noticed black blobs out of the corner of her eye. She looked down to see Soul Reapers in their black uniforms walking towards the academy. Shichiyou leaned on her arms while watching the Soul Reapers walk by. _They must have such an interesting life_, Shichiyou thought to herself. She sighed. The only life she had ever known was living in this suburban Japanese home in the Soul Society and working in her parents' café.

Not that she was complaining, Shichiyou loved working in the café. Café Hitohana was built not long after they moved into the Soul Society. It was a quaint little building that rested right beside their house. It was one of the hot spots of the area, if you were above the age of 25 that is. Shichiyou had never seen anyone there her own age, just older people that had come to have a quick drink or something small to eat. Shichiyou loved those people though, they were so nice and they were the only people Shichiyou could consider as her friends.

Shichiyou sighed again. Since coming here she hadn't been successful in making any friends. She was clumsy, always stumbling over her own two feet, and she was often shy and got embarrassed very easily. All of this kept her from making friends, seen as most of the time she was too shy to even talk to anyone her own age. Shichiyou looked down at the peonies.

"At least you guys give me someone to talk to." She said with a slight smile. Shichiyou loved flowers, they were the best listeners. She loved flower arranging as well and liked to do it in her spare time. With spring coming up fast it meant there would be lots of new flowers to arrange and take care of, which also meant new friends for Shichiyou to talk to.

Shichiyou gently caressed a small peony beside her. Its petals were soft under her fingertips and she was careful not to press the delicate petals too hard. Suddenly Shichiyou caught something out of her peripheral vision. She looked down to see a male Soul Reaper looking up at her. She couldn't see his face very well but his black hair shone in the morning sun. Without realizing it Shichiyou leaned farther out her window, trying to get a better look at the boy staring at her.

He looked about her age, give or take one or two years, and his hair was a deep midnight black. It was short and spiked at the tips. His bangs hung to the right and also ended in spiked tips. She could tell, even from the distance she was at that he was handsome, very handsome. Her stomach suddenly started doing back-flips and she felt her face turn red. What was she freaking out about? He was just looking at her, for all she knew he was probably looking at the flowers, not her.

This idea calmed her a bit, but it didn't help explain anything when the boy suddenly turned to face her completely and winked at her. Shichiyou's face flamed bright red. He was winking…at _her_! What was going on?! He looked like he was going to ask her something. Oh God what was she going to do? She couldn't think, what was she supposed to say? _Shichiyou pull yourself together! If he says 'hi' you just say hi back it's not that hard_! She scolded herself. She took a deep breath, making it look like she was sniffing the flowers while she did, and looked down at him. He opened his mouth to say something when he was interrupted by another voice.

"Shichiyou, breakfast!" Shichiyou's mother called to her. Shichiyou sighed in relief, but felt sort of disappointed at the same time. She heard a light laugh and realized it was coming from the boy on the street.

"Hey, my name's Aserisk." He finally said. Shichiyou opened her mouth but something blocked her throat. She couldn't speak. She just smiled awkwardly and nodded.

Aserisk laughed again. "What's your name?" He asked. _He must not have heard my mom say my name_, she thought. She took a deep breath and was about to reply when she heard a crashing noise coming from the kitchen.

"I have to go." She suddenly blurted out and ran from the window to see what the problem was.

Aserisk stood outside the girl's house. It was her shining silver-blue hair that had distracted him from his walk to the Soul Academy in the first place. It was so bright, so different.

"And I didn't even get to learn her name." He whispered to himself sighing. He looked around the area. It was strange, he had walked down this street hundreds of times before but he had never actually stopped to look at it. The houses were small, but quaint, and people bustled by hurriedly as they were off to work or off to do chores. He looked at the small building beside the mystery girl's house. It was a small café he had never noticed before.

"'_Café Hitohana_.'" He read out loud. He crossed his arms and smirked. He was definitely going to check this place out after training. He sighed and started walking again. He knew where the girl lived at least, but he wondered if he would ever get to have a decent conversation with the mystery girl. He wasn't sure why, but something about her was…interesting. Aserisk smiled and slowly strode off to the Soul Academy.

Shichiyou ran down the stairs, almost falling down them as she did, and slid into the kitchen.

"W-what happened, I heard a bang…" She said.

"Oh, it's nothing, Asagao dropped her plate." Ryuukyuukei said nonchalantly. Like this happened almost all the time and was nothing new.

"I didn't drop it, it slipped!" A bouncing girl with long auburn hair defended. Asagao was Shichiyou's younger sister by two years. She was always happy and always bouncing. She was the same height as Shichiyou with light baby-blue eyes, and unfortunately Asagao was also growing taller than Shichiyou everyday, which was something Shichiyou realized disappointedly. Asagao was angry right now though. She must have dropped her plate, which wasn't that surprising. Asagao hated mornings and she hated cleaning even more. Today was not starting out great for her.

"Asagao stop fighting with your brother and help me!" Her mother scolded.

"I wasn't fighting with him." Asagao stated crossing her arms.

"I don't care, now pick up this mess!" Shida said angrily. Asagao furrowed her eyebrows defiantly. She was 14, but acted more like a five-year old.

"What happened?! I heard a crash!" Everyone turned to the door to the kitchen to see a very frazzled Kabashi Hitohana standing there. Shichiyou's father was 45, 5'2" and had bright blue eyes. His hair was black but had a blue sheen to it and he was beginning to bald slightly. He had high cheek bones and stern eyes even though he was one of the nicest men in the world. This morning, however, he wasn't as tidy as he usually was. His yukata wasn't tied properly and his hair was all over the place. It looked like he had just gotten himself out of bed.

"Asagao dropped a plate." Shida explained angrily. She hated cleaning almost as much as Asagao did so she wasn't happy about this whole situation either. Kabashi suddenly ran over to his youngest daughter.

"Oh my goodness Asagao are you ok?! You're not bleeding are you? Did you cut yourself anywhere?" He asked worriedly. Shichiyou rolled her eyes. All her father ever did was spoil her, Asagao, and Ryuukyuukei. Suddenly Shida turned around and smacked her husband over the head with a paper fan.

"Don't you dare spoil her! She still has to pick up this mess!" Shida yelled. Kabashi turned around with tears spilling down his eyes.

"But Shida, darling, what if she had been hurt?" He asked.

"Then she would have gotten a bandage or something. Asagao is a big girl she can take care of herself." Shida explained crossing her arms. Kabashi suddenly ran over and grabbed his daughter in a tight embrace.

"No, not my innocent Asagao, she's not all grown up, she's still my little girl!" He said defiantly. _And we wonder why Asagao acts like a five-year old_, Shichiyou thought shaking her head.

"Release your daughter! She needs to clean this mess _now_!" Shida said menacingly. An evil light filled her eyes. Asagao and Kabashi shrunk down in fear.

"It's clean." Shida, Kabashi, and Asagao turned to see Shichiyou wiping the last traces of egg off the floor. She was the one who usually did the cleaning around the house anyway, since her mother hated it so much.

"Shichiyou, you're such a little angel." Shida said with a smile. Shichiyou smiled back. Suddenly her father was over to her embracing her in a warm hug.

"Oh Shichiyou you're our little savior! That's my girl, daddy loves you so much!" He said happily. Suddenly a large paper fan came out of nowhere and Kabashi slowly slid to the kitchen floor with a huge red mark on his head. Shida grabbed the back of his yukata and dragged him off, the paper fan over her shoulder.

"We're going to open the café, finish your food." She said angrily and dragged her dazed husband next door. Shichiyou, Ryuukyuukei and Asagao stared after them, looked at each other and then smiled. This behaviour from their parents was natural, to them anyway. Their father spoiled them uncontrollably and their mother was probably the only one in the world with the guts to control him. The perfect couple.

Shichiyou turned back to the stove and picked up two eggs and sat down.

"So, who was the boy standing outside?" Shichiyou almost spat out her egg and Ryuukyuukei almost fell out of his seat. Asagao stared at them completely innocent and curious.

"What boy?" Ryuukyuukei asked trying to fix himself/

"Before, there was a boy standing outside the house. He looked like he was staring at something, and I think he said something to someone. I wasn't sure, I couldn't see him all that well. Whoever he was, he was definitely gorgeous." She explained with a sigh. She stared off into the distance, a dreamy smile on her face. Asagao had a tendency to switch between being a child and acting her own age or even older.

Shichiyou sat very silently. She ate her eggs at a slow pace trying not to draw too much attention to herself. She wanted nothing more than to disappear. Everyone seemed to be ignoring her. Asagao was still staring off dreamily and Ryuukyuukei had an angry look plastered on his face. Shichiyou knew this invisibility was too good to be true when they both suddenly turned to face her.

"What?" She asked with egg in her mouth. Asagao smiled mischievously and Ryuukyuukei just stared at her.

"He was looking at you wasn't he? Where he was standing was right beneath your window." Asagao stated. Ryuukyuukei stood.

"What do you mean he was '_right beneath your window_'?!" He asked menacingly. Ryuukyuukei had always been protective of Asagao and Shichiyou, but sometimes he took the "brotherly protection" act a bit too far.

"No it's not what you think." Shichiyou defended putting her hands up.

"Ah hah! So he was staring at you! What did he say?!" Asagao asked excitedly. Shichiyou almost hit herself in the forehead. Why did she always fall so easily into Asagao's traps?

"Nothing, he didn't say anything! I mean I didn't hear him! I mean…" Shichiyou's sentences started overlapping each other. She didn't know what she meant anymore. She felt her face turn bright red.

"What are you blushing for?" Asagao asked curiously.

"What? I'm not blushing, what are you talking about?" Shichiyou said trying to act innocent.

"Your face is bright red." Asagao moved forward her face inches from Shichiyou. Her light blue eyes sparkled with interest. Shichiyou's head was spinning.

"He didn't see you naked did he?" Asagao suddenly asked innocently cocking her head to one side. Ryuukyuukei, who had sat back down at this point, actually fell right off his chair. Shichiyou lost it and her entire face became red.

"Asagao!" She exclaimed completely taken aback.

"What, I was just asking." Asagao said shrugging her shoulders. Suddenly Ryuukyuukei got up and walked over to the door. His face was dark.

"Hey, where're you going Ryuu?" Asagao asked. Suddenly Ryuukyuukei turned around, an evil look in his eye.

"I'm going to go do some pest control if you'll excuse me." He replied and left the house.

"Asa, I think Ryuu is mad." Shichiyou stated.

"Yeah, I think I took it a bit too far. I don't know why he's bothering though. He has no idea what the guy looked like, plus he'll probably get distracted by some woman somewhere in town." Asagao shrugged. She smiled and ran over to Shichiyou taking her arm.

"Now come on let's go play!" She said reverting back to her five-year old self.

"I can't Asa, we have to help mom and dad at the café." Shichiyou said while standing. Asagao puffed her cheeks in protest.

"But I don't want to work I wanna play." She said pouting.

"I know. Tell you what, we'll go to work and then after I'll take you for a walk and we can play as much as you want." Shichiyou said with a smile. Asagao's eyes widened and she smiled happily.

"Yay I'm going for a walk with Shichi later, yay!" She said while bouncing around the room. Shichiyou smiled and followed her sister out of the house. They walked to the café and walked in. It was already filling up with morning patrons. They sat around the tables set up around the building. Some sat at the bar set up near the back even though they didn't serve alcohol. The shades were pulled up fully and the morning sun warmed the room and set it off to a nice glow. One window was open letting in a cool breeze and there were flowers set up in vases around the room.

"Shichiyou, Asagao can you go get changed and help us? Where's Ryuukyuukei?" Their mom suddenly asked coming out of the back room. Their mother was the cook and no one could beat her home-style cooking. Their father was whatever he felt like being that day. Usually a waiter but today he was doing orders for more ingredients and wouldn't be back until after the café closed.

"Ryuu's running…an errand and he'll be back eventually." Shichiyou replied.

"Is he? Well it doesn't matter, we're not that busy right now anyway. Now go get changed." Asagao and Shichiyou did as they were told and went into the back. Their uniforms were washed and dried and hung up on small hooks in the female changing room. Shichiyou's uniform was light teal to match her hair and eyes. It was like a maid's outfit with white frills at the end of the short sleeves and the skirt. There was white sakura blossoms around the bottom of the skirt. She also had a white apron to wear over her uniform that was simple and had frills around the edges. To finish the uniform off was a small frilled bonnet that just covered the top of her head.

She pulled her uniform on and put her feet in small black flats underneath the bench that ran along the room. She looked over at Asagao who was already in her matching dark purple uniform with her hair pulled back into tight pig-tails.

"I don't want to work!" Asagao whined stamping her feet and crossing her arms defiantly.

"You never want to work." Shichiyou said with a kind smile.

"Well I still don't want to!" She complained.

"Remember what we promised?" Shichiyou said with a teasing tone. Asagao looked at her. Shichiyou knew she was going to win this battle when she saw Asagao's eyes had started to grow slightly wider.

"If you come and help me finish an _entire_ day's worth of work I will take you out for a walk and we can play for as long as you want." Shichiyou told her. The only way to deal with Asagao when she was in a mood was to treat her like you would a five-year old who just wanted to play. All you had to do was make a small compromise and she was ready to go. A new light shined in Asagao's eyes. She grabbed Shichiyou's arm and dragged her out of the backroom.

"Come on Shichiyou, come on! We have work to do! Let's go, let's go!" Asagao said with new found excitement. Shichiyou smiled and allowed Asagao to drag her out into the café. Shichiyou and Asagao grabbed their pads and pens and began walking around the room taking orders. The morning was slow as usual but they knew it was always calm before the storm. As the afternoon rolled around so did the crowd. Soon the entire café was filled with customers.

Asagao and Shichiyou were running around the room taking orders and bringing food and drinks to the customers.

"Oh, Mr. Kishimoto how are you?" Shichiyou asked bringing a coffee to a regular customer. He was scribbling sketches onto pieces of paper.

"Good, the final chapters are almost done." He said still sketching away.

"That's good, here's your coffee." She said and placed the coffee on the table.

"Almost done, the main character is about to face off against-"

"Oh don't tell me Mr. Kishimoto, I'll just wait and read it when it comes out." Shichiyou said with a smile. Mr. Kishimoto nodded, went back to work, and started taking small sips out of his coffee cup. Shichiyou smiled. Mr. Kishimoto had been working on that story of his for years. Something about a boy ninja in an orange jumpsuit, she wasn't sure.

Shichiyou continued walking around the room, not even tired yet. After years of running around the room her stamina had only increased as the café's popularity did. Asagao was bouncy as ever jumping from table to table with a cheerful smile on her face. Ryuukyuukei came running into the door a little later on in the afternoon. He bolted it into the backroom and then came out looking as suave as ever in his waiter's uniform. It was a simple white shirt, black vest, and black dress pants. Shichiyou turned to the window to see some girls a little older than her standing in the window just gazing at him.

She smiled. Same customers, same food, same light, same girls watching Ryuukyuukei as he worked, same old life that Shichiyou had been living since coming to the Soul Society. Unfortunately, today wasn't going to be the same old day of work that Shichiyou figured it was.

Shichiyou walked over to her next table. She closed her eyes and smiled brightly.

"Hello, and welcome to Café Hitohana. Is there something I can get you?"

"No way, it's you." Shichiyou opened her eyes. They grew wide with shock. Sitting there with a bright smile on his face was the same boy that had spoken to her outside her window that morning. He was just sitting there, smiling, like Shichiyou was a long lost friend. She was right before though, he was beautiful. Perfect. Slightly tanned skin, bright and smiling hazel eyes, smooth black hair, he was the most perfect boy Shichiyou had ever seen and to top it all off, he looked around her age.

"Remember me from this morning? I thought for sure we'd never even have a decent conversation outside me yelling at you in your window." He said. He smiled brightly. A perfect smile.

"Uh…uh…" Shichiyou couldn't make any coherent words come out of her mouth. It was like something was blocking her throat.

"So you work here huh? That's pretty cool. If I wasn't so busy I would definitely be getting a job. Maybe here, it would be really interesting." He continued. He turned and sent Shichiyou a mischievous look. Shichiyou felt her face turn red. She pulled the pad close to her face and tried not to make eye contact.

"Can I get you anything?" She whispered behind the pad.

"What?" Aserisk asked cocking his head to the side like a puppy. He was so cute. Shichiyou shook her head slightly.

"Can I get you anything?" Shichiyou said a little louder.

"Come again?" Aserisk asked putting a hand behind his ear. _He's teasing me_! Shichiyou thought. She had never been teased by a boy before, other than her brother but right now that didn't count.

"I said can I get you anything?" Shichiyou finally said pulling the pad away slowly.

"Oh, uh, let me see…I guess I'll have…some green tea and a plate of sushi, my favourite." He added winking at her. Shichiyou quickly wrote down his order without looking at him and quickly sped off to the kitchen. She ran behind the wall blocking the customers' view of the kitchen, leaned against it, and sighed heavily. Her face was still bright red and her heart was racing.

"That guy from this morning is here." Shichiyou nearly jumped out of her skin as her sister breathed into her ear. Asagao laughed and clapped her hands.

"I scared Shichi!" She said happily.

"A little jumpy Shichiyou?" Ryuukyuukei asked as he came into the kitchen as well.

"No, of course not, Asagao just scared me." Shichiyou replied trying to calm herself down. Suddenly Ryuukyuukei turned and glared.

"Something wrong Ryuu?" Asagao asked.

"Who's that guy sitting over near the window? I've never seen him before." Shichiyou felt her stomach flip. The guy sitting near the window, was Aserisk.

"Mom, I have an order!" Shichiyou suddenly burst out running over to her mom and passing her the small piece of paper.

"Thanks sweetie." Shida replied not taking her eyes off of the rice cooker. Shichiyou stood staring at her mother. Her mother stood waiting, but gradually grew agitated.

"Shichiyou, do me a favour and wait somewhere else. This rice needs to be cooked to perfection for the best quality taste and you're making me nervous." Shida told Shichiyou slightly annoyed.

"Oh, right, sorry." Shichiyou replied and slowly slid to the side. Her mother was always very tense when it came to cooking. Everything had to be perfect or she would throw out the food and start again, It cost them a little more everyday but with the amount of customers they got everyday that extra cost was covered within a day. Shichiyou tensed as she felt a hand on her forehead. She looked up to see her brother staring down at her.

"You alright? You've been acting weird." Shichiyou looked at her brother.

"Oh, it's nothing." Shichiyou told him with a smile. Ryuukyuukei looked down at his little sister with concern.

"Shichiyou, your order is ready!" Shida called. Shichiyou almost sighed with relief. She ran over to her mother with a tray and placed the green tea and sushi on it. She walked back over to the doorway that lead into the main room. She turned back to her brother.

"I'm fine, really." She smiled and walked back out. She slowly made her way over to the table and her heart race started increasing again. What was she going to say? How was she going to even _approach _him? The questions whirled around in her mind until her eyes started to spin. She was almost at the table when something happened. Either she tripped over herself or something else, but Shichiyou was falling. Her clumsiness had decided to strike, at the one possible moment she really didn't want it to.

She saw the tray falling out of her hands and forward. Green tea was spilling on the floor and sushi was falling in all directions. Shichiyou herself was falling towards the floor and was going to land on her face, hard. She closed her eyes and waited for the impending impact. It wasn't like she hadn't fallen before, she had, many, many times, but this was hardwood floor, and she had a very delicate face.

As Shichiyou thought she was about to hit the floor, she hit something, soft. Shichiyou had her eyes shut tightly and slowly opened them. When she looked down all she could see were bright hazel eyes filled with worry and they were surrounded by a perfect face. Shichiyou realized she was staring right into Aserisk's eyes. Not only that, she was lying, right on top of him. Shichiyou felt her entire face turn dark red. She let out a small yelp and jumped backwards landing on her butt.

She could hardly breathe. She had been so close to him, his lips were practically on hers. Shichiyou shook her head trying to erase the images but her embarrassment wouldn't go away. She felt her throat go tight and thought she was going to cry. She started sniffing and knew the tears would come any second.

"Hey, you alright?" Shichiyou looked up at Aserisk. He stood over her and concern filled his face. Shichiyou shook her head again, not in protest, but because she was trying to stop herself from crying. Aserisk reached out and took her hand. He slowly lifted her back up and smiled. He suddenly stepped forward. Shichiyou tensed and then realized it was because he was trying to hide her face.

"If there's one thing I hate, it's seeing a girl cry. So do me a favour?" Shichiyou looked up at him. She thought he was mad at her, but he just turned around and smiled.

"Dry those tears, and show me a smile." He said. Shichiyou rubbed her eyes and a bright smile crossed her face. Aserisk's face fell in shock. Shichiyou looked at him confused but he hid the shock and smiled.

"By the way, I still don't know your name." Aserisk whispered. Shichiyou looked at him shocked. She knew his name, but she hadn't even introduced herself yet.

"I'm sorry, my name is…Shichiyou." She said with a small smile. Aserisk was silent for a moment, like he was taking it in, and then smiled.

"Shichiyou…I like it." He finally said. Shichiyou's heart flipped. Not just because he had said her name, but also because he _liked_ it. He actually _liked_ her name!

"Thank yo-"

"Hey is everything ok over here?" Shichiyou looked over to see Ryuukyuukei walking over. He had a dark glare on his face, probably directed at Aserisk.

"Ryuu, it's ok, I just fell. He helped me up." Shichiyou explained.

"Oh really? He just happened to help you?" Ryuukyuukei said still glaring at Aserisk.

"It was nothing really. The only problem is there's food all over the floor now, my food, so I'll help clea-"

"Thanks but we don't need your help, we can handle it ourselves." Ryuukyuukei interrupted. Shichiyou glared at him, he was being rude and she didn't like it. A dark glare crossed Aserisk's face but he let it go and smiled.

"Alright, I can tell when I'm not wanted. I'll see you around." He said mostly to Shichiyou. He threw some money on the table and slowly walked out of the café. Shichiyou turned on Ryuukyuukei.

"What was that?" She demanded.

"What was what?" Ryuukyuukei asked.

"You treated him horribly! He was a customer and he stopped me from falling." She told him angrily.

"I'm sure. Look Shichiyou, that guy is looking for trouble alright. I can tell guys like him from a mile away. If he knows what's good for him, he'll leave you alone." Shichiyou stared at her brother shocked. He had never treated anyone like that before. She glared at him, turned around, and stomped off. She ignored her brother for the rest of the day and just finished her shift. She left still in a mood and met Asagao outside the café.

"Let's go Shichi, let's go!" Asagao said happily. She still had her hair tied in pigtails and they bounced as she skipped along. Shichiyou followed behind her, still thinking about before. Ryuukyuukei could be so rude sometimes, but today he crossed the line. Shichiyou couldn't stand it.

"-chiyou, Shichiyou!" Shichiyou came out of her thoughts to see Asagao standing beside her looking worried.

"What's wrong Asa?" Shichiyou asked.

"You weren't listening to me." Asagao complained.

Shichiyou smiled. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"Well I was saying that we should play hide-and-seek when we get to the park. I love that game." Asagao said happily.

"I don't know about hide-and-seek, it's getting dark and we don't want to get lost. How about tag instead?" Shichiyou offered. Asagao's eyes grew wide and a huge smile crossed her face.

"Tag, tag, tag!" She chanted. Shichiyou smiled. She always knew what to do to make Asagao happy. When they finally made it to the park the sun was already almost hidden behind the horizon. A small chill had filled the air and Shichiyou shivered slightly. She looked around. Something didn't feel right, but she didn't know, or at least, couldn't explain, what it was or why she felt it.

"Asagao, I think maybe we should go home for tonight and play tomorrow. It's pretty dark." Shichiyou said holding herself.

"No! You promised me we could play so we're going to play! Come on Shichi let's play tag! We won't be long, just a few minutes, please?" Asagao asked her eyes growing wide. _The puppy pout_. Shichiyou thought rolling her eyes.

"Alright, a couple of minutes but then we should go." Shichiyou said, shaking off the weird feeling. Asagao's face lit up.

"Yay, ok you're it!" Asagao said happily and ran off giggling. Shichiyou rolled her eyes. She was always "it" but it didn't matter, she was the fastest in her family. She ran after Asagao who laughed as Shichiyou chased her. They played like that for almost half an hour when Asagao fell to the ground. She gasped for breath. Shichiyou lied down beside her and they both stared up at the stars that had filled the sky.

"Hey Shichiyou, who was that guy in the café before?" Asagao suddenly asked reverting to her mature self. Shichiyou tensed and lifted herself up.

"You saw him?!" She asked turning around to face her sister.

"Well yeah, you caused a scene in the café." Asagao replied. _Oh great, the serious Asagao is back_. Shichiyou thought rolling her eyes again.

"So who was he?" Asagao asked. She rolled over onto her stomach and picked at the grass. Shichiyou sighed defeated. Asagao wouldn't let it go now, especially since she was back to being serious Asagao again.

"I don't know really. He was staring at me this morning and he told me his name was Aserisk. I don't know anything about him other than that."

"Aserisk huh? That's a cool name, I like it. So is he like, your stalker or something?" Asagao asked. Shichiyou nearly fell onto the grass.

"No he is not my stalker!" She exclaimed. Asagao just stared at the grass with no expression on her face.

"Alright that's all I wanted to know. Are you and Ryuukyuukei still mad at each other?" Asagao asked abruptly changing the subject.

"Sort of, I think our game helped me get over most of it." Shichiyou replied playing with a piece of grass.

Asagao smiled. "Tag makes everything better. I don't think you should be too mad at him. He's only trying to protect you."

"Yeah, I know. I just wish he'd stop treating me like a child. I'm 16 and contrary to popular belief I can take care of myself."

"Maybe it has something to do with you being so short. Maybe when he sees you he sees you not as his responsible sixteen-year old young adult, but the 4'6" ten-year old he used to protect all the time." Shichiyou glared at her sister.

Asagao laughed. "But seriously Shichiyou, Ryuukyuukei is always going to protect you so you shouldn't worry about it. Besides, come this time tomorrow morning you guys will be all friendly again anyway." She smiled at Shichiyou. Shichiyou smiled back and sighed.

"Asagao I hate it when you act more mature than me." Asagao just laughed and then jumped up.

"I'm bored, let's go home Shichi!" Shichiyou rolled her eyes. Her sister could change her personality in the blink of an eye without even batting an eyelash. Shichiyou often wondered how Asagao's husband, if she ever got married, would handle her.

"Alright, we'll go. It's getting late anyway." Shichiyou got up brushing stray dirt off her clothes. Asagao and Shichiyou began walking home. It was eerily quiet, Shichiyou noted, as they walked along the empty street.

"Asagao I think it was a bad idea to come out tonight…" Shichiyou said trailing off.

"Why's that?" Asagao asked turning to face Shichiyou. She had an innocently curious expression on her face and was surprisingly calm.

"I don't know, something about tonight doesn't feel right." Shichiyou replied. She hugged herself and rubbed her arms as a cold wind blew by them. Shichiyou was getting goosebumps.

"I think it's nice out." Asagao replied. She had turned and was now walking backwards in front of Shichiyou. She looked happy as usual without a care in the world.

"Still, we should probably hurry home before we run into…Asagao look out!" Shichiyou exclaimed. Asagao turned abruptly around and ran into a man coming out of a side street. Asagao fell to the ground.

"Owwie!" She whined rubbing her behind.

"Asagao are you ok?" Shichiyou asked running over to her sister. She knelt down. There were small tears in the corners of Asagao's eyes.

"Yes, I'm ok." She replied through sniffs. Shichiyou looked up at the man.

"I'm so sorry, she just wasn't paying attention to…" Shichiyou trailed off. The man had turned and he had an awkward smile on his face. He turned his head to the side.

"Hey, come check out what I found." He called. Soon another man appeared. Shichiyou felt her heart pick up speed. She went to cover her nose but stopped in case the men would take offence. Shichiyou's nose stung. The smell of alcohol completely surrounded the men. They were both tall and Shichiyou could see the muscles beneath a slightly open piece of clothing.

Shichiyou let out a small gasp as she recognized the black uniforms the men were wearing. They were Soul Reapers, and the fact that they smelled of sake told Shichiyou that she and Asagao had just entered a very bad situation.

"Well, lookie here. Where did you find these two?" The other man asked. Neither of them was good-looking, and one had a wart on the side of his nose. _Disgusting_, was the only word that came to Shichiyou's mind.

"Well the little one on the ground ran into me." The other man explained. He had brown hair and was balding. He had small, black eyes, a big, fat nose and he was the one with the wart. He was also the most muscular of the two but he had a small pot belly. He obviously wasn't as fit as most Soul Reapers were.

The other man was tall and lanky with a long pointed nose and a sharp face. His hair was black, greasy, and sleeked back. His eyes were narrowed and brown. He looked very much like a chicken and was probably one of the creepiest men Shichiyou had ever seen.

"Well, that wasn't very nice. What are you going to do about it?" The chicken-man asked, an eerie smile crossing his face. The other man smiled back. Shichiyou did not like this.

"Shichiyou…" Asagao whispered her grasp on Shichiyou's arm was stronger than before. Shichiyou could feel Asagao shaking. This was bad, very bad.

"What was that? 'Shichiyou'? Is that your name?" The chicken-man asked turning his eyes on Shichiyou. Shichiyou shivered under his gaze. She didn't like the way he looked at her, not at all. He suddenly took a step forward and both Shichiyou and Asagao tensed. He looked down at Shichiyou and she glared back.

"Don't touch my sister." She hissed through clenched teeth. Shichiyou wasn't brave, but she was not going to let them get anywhere near Asagao.

"Oh, it seems we have quite the little tiger here." The chicken-man chuckled. _Right, come anywhere near my sister and I'll claw your eyes out_. Shichiyou thought bitterly.

"But you see, your sister isn't exactly my type, you however…I think you might be perfect." The chicken-man said. Suddenly the man moved faster than even Shichiyou could comprehend. The man grabbed Asagao and ripped her from Shichiyou's grasp, hurling her at the other man. The chicken-man then grabbed Shichiyou's arm and pulled her up. He wrapped his arms around her. Shichiyou tensed. The only thing between his body and hers was her two arms which she had managed to bring up instinctively before he grabbed her.

"Shichiyou!" Asagao screamed.

"Asagao! Let go of me!" Shichiyou demanded.

"Aww, not yet, let's have some fun first." The chicken-man said licking his lips. Shichiyou cringed.

"Shichiyou!" Asagao screamed again. She heard a laugh erupt from the other man. She couldn't see Asagao or the man since they were both blocked from view by the chicken-man.

"I said…let, me, go!" Shichiyou screamed. She stamped her heel down as hard as she could on the man's foot. He yelped in pain and let her go. Shichiyou acted as quickly as she could. She jumped away from the man and started towards the other man. He had Asagao against the wall of a house and she was trying to fight him off. Shichiyou felt anger surge up inside her. She ran at the man and instinctively brought up her foot. She kicked the man as hard as she could in the side.

He cringed and stumbled to the side taking Asagao with him. She screamed again. Shichiyou ran and helped her sister up. She suddenly felt a strong hand grab her arm and pull her back. She was suddenly pressed up against a wall and she hit her head hard. She opened her eyes to see the chicken-man staring at her menacingly. He brought his katana up to her neck.

"I suggest…you not do that again." He said through gasps of breath. Shichiyou turned her head and saw the other man had grabbed Asagao again. Tears were falling down her face and she was screaming. _Why? Why am I so weak_?! Shichiyou asked herself. She felt tears form at the corners of her eyes. She was useless, absolutely useless. She had so many people to protect her but she had never once protected herself or anyone else. If she only had some kind of strength she could protect her sister. But where was she going to get a strength like that? She was useless and there was nothing she could do.

Tears fell down her face.

"Oh come now, it's not going to be that bad, I promise." The chicken-man said licking his lips again. Shichiyou heard another scream from her sister and something inside her awakened.

"_What the hell are you doing_?" A voice whispered to her inside her mind. It was a woman's voice.

"_What can I do? I'm trapped, and I can't help anyone_." Shichiyou replied mentally.

"_You can get rid of that half-ass attitude of yours and actually fight back_." The voice replied.

"_How? They're stronger than me and faster than me. I'm useless_!" Shichiyou screamed in her mind.

"_Shut up! You listen to me Shichiyou Hitohana you are going to stop whining like a baby and you are going to fight these pieces of shit and save your sister_!" The voice yelled.

Shichiyou stopped. "_But how_?" She asked.

"_Believe in yourself_." The voice replied and then disappeared. Shichiyou suddenly came back to earth. She could hear her sister screaming and the men laughing. She had to do something, but what? "Believe in your self," the voice had said, but Shichiyou wasn't sure she could.

She suddenly heard a blood-curdling scream echoing through the area. It was Asagao and she needed help. _I have to save her_! Shichiyou thought to herself. _Please, someone, something, if you can hear me, give me the strength to save my sister! Give me the strength to stand and fight! Give me the strength to protect_! She screamed. Suddenly she felt a surge. It was like she was being filled with strength, agility, and above all, courage. She would fight, and she would win.

"What the hell?" The chicken-man suddenly asked. Shichiyou was being engulfed in a bright light. _Like starlight_. She thought to herself. It was amazing, the feeling she was getting from this light. It felt, amazing, so warm and comforting. Finally the light subsided and Shichiyou stood firm on the ground. She had a sheath on her left side and she was clothed in a black uniform. She had a white sash tied around her waist and a white ribbon tied around her left arm.

She looked up at the chicken-man and glared menacingly.

"Whoa, wh-what the hell is going on? There's no way…" He was scared and shaking. Shichiyou smiled. Without a hesitation she pulled out her katana and ran at the man. He lifted his in front of his face but was too slow. Shichiyou struck out at him. He blocked some of her attacks, but she finished him by slashing him across the chest and kicking him into the wall behind him. It wasn't a fatal blow, but it would definitely hurt. Shichiyou then turned and faced the other man. He had stopped as well and was staring with wide eyes at her.

"Please, we meant nothing by it. We were kidding that's all, just kidding." He said. The man dropped Asagao and backed away waving his arms.

"Please, I'm begging you here, we didn't mean anything by it I swear!" Shichiyou looked at Asagao. She was crying and part of her shirt was ripped near her chest. Shichiyou glared menacingly at the man. She continued to walk towards him and he fell back trying to get away. She knelt down in front of him. Shichiyou lifted her katana in the air and brought it down right beside his face. He screamed.

"If you ever come near me, my sister, or any other woman I will personally make sure that you lose a little bit more than your dignity. Now take your friend and get lost." Shichiyou nodded her head towards the chicken-man. The other man turned and bowed.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." He repeated. He ran over to the chicken-man, picked him up, and ran for his life.

"Shichiyou? What happened to you?" Shichiyou turned to stare at Asagao. Her eyes were wide with shock and awe. Suddenly Shichiyou returned fully to her senses. She looked around and then at herself. She was holding a katana of some sort and it had blood on the end of it. Shichiyou suddenly dropped it in shock. She stared at her hands. She was shaking.

"Wha-what happened to me?" She asked.

"Shichiyou, you're dressed, like one of them." Asagao said still staring at her. Shichiyou looked at her clothes and her eyes grew wide. No, this was impossible. Only those born in the Soul Society could become a Soul Reaper. So why was she, a soul who had been sent here, suddenly sporting the Soul Reaper uniform? She was so confused and her head started to spin. What was going on?

"Shichiyou are you ok?" Asagao asked worriedly. Shichiyou didn't know how to answer. She looked up at her sister and she became even dizzier. She felt herself lose balance, and then everything went black.


	3. Chapter 2: Soul Academy and a New Sensei

**Author's Note:** Hey everyone I just wanted to take a quick chance to send a shout out and a big thank you to DawnPhoenix for giving me the idea for the title of this story. Yay for useless physics classes! Thanks so much Danwzie~ I really owe you for this one!

~Crimson-Moon-Beams (a.k.a. Nikoru-chan)

**Chapter Two**

**The Soul Academy and the New Sensei**

Shichiyou opened her eyes to see her ceiling above her head. She let out a long sigh and placed her arm over her eyes.

"It was all a weird dream." She whispered to herself. In one way she was happy, none of it had happened, but at the same time she was disappointed. She loved the surge of strength she had gotten from that strange power, loved the thrill of beating down her enemies. It had felt so good, and above all, she had kept her sister safe. But that was all in her mind, none of it had happened. Shichiyou moved her left arm and put it over her other arm.

She tensed. She slowly pulled her arms away and looked at her left wrist. It had a white ribbon tied around it. Shichiyou felt her heartbeat quicken. She grabbed the covers of the bed and threw them off. She stared down at a black outfit with a white sash around her waist. She looked around the room. Sitting against the corner of the wall she could see the katana. _Oh my God_, Shichiyou thought to herself, _it wasn't a dream_. She jumped out of bed. She was about to leave the room when she felt a weird sensation, like she was forgetting something. She looked over at the katana.

It was calling to her. It didn't have a voice, but she could hear it somehow, and it wanted Shichiyou to take it with her. Shichiyou stared at it and reluctantly went towards it. She reached her arm out and grabbed it. A jolt ran through her body. It was like her and the katana were connected, and there couldn't be one without the other. They were two halves that created one whole. Without it, Shichiyou was nothing.

Shichiyou stared at the katana. She grabbed the hilt and slowly pulled it out. The blade was silver and shone in the faint light coming from her lamp. The blade was clean. _Someone must have cleaned it_, Shichiyou thought thinking of how she had used it to cut the man from before. Shichiyou stared at the blade and then realized something. There were small cracks all along it. The cracks ran through the blade and connected together all the way to the tip. It looked like if she dropped it the entire blade would shatter. The cracks went around and formed ten craggily circles.

There was a sudden knock at the door.

"Shichiyou, sweetheart, are you awake?" Shichiyou quickly sheathed the katana and slid it into the sash. It hung there but didn't fall out.

"I'm awake." Shichiyou replied. The door slowly opened and her mother walked in. Her face looked worn and her eyes looked slightly swollen.

"Mom are you o-" Shichiyou was cut off as her mom ran to her and embraced her in a tight hug. Shichiyou wasn't sure what to do so she hugged her mother back. After a small time Shida stepped back and tried to smile. It slowly faded and a small tear ran down her face.

"Mom what's wrong?" Shichiyou asked worriedly. Her mother just shook her head.

"Nothing, nothing. I was just worried. Asagao had you over her shoulder and there was blood on that katana and I was just so worried. Asagao told us the whole story and I'm just so thankful you're still alive!" Shichiyou's mother burst into tears. Shichiyou smiled, stepped forward, and hugged her mom.

"It's ok mom, Asagao and I are fine. I'm sorry we worried you." Shichiyou said. Shichiyou's mom stepped back and smiled.

"Thank goodness. Now come downstairs, everyone is worried about you, and you know how your father gets." Shichiyou smiled and followed her mother downstairs. They walked into the living room and Shichiyou saw her father, brother, and sister sitting on the couches all looking worried and tired. They all looked up at Shichiyou and smiled. Kabashi got up and hugged his eldest daughter.

"Thank goodness, you're ok. Asagao told us the entire story. I don't know what I'd do if you hadn't saved everyone and had gotten hurt." Shichiyou hugged her father. He was probably more worried than Shida.

"But I'm ok, we both are. Just a little shaken and slightly shocked." Shichiyou told him. She pulled away and smiled. Her father smiled back. They walked over to the couches and sat down.

"So how is it you ended up with Soul Reaper powers anyway?" Ryuukyuukei asked suddenly.

"I'm not sure really. I just wanted to save Asagao and then they randomly came." Shichiyou shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know how else to explain it. Asagao smiled and started rocking, a habit she shared with Shichiyou. Both of them rocked whenever they needed to calm themselves down. It was soothing, much like when a mother rocks her baby to sleep.

"So now the only question that remains is, what are we going to do about your powers?" Ryuukyuukei posed the question and the room became silent and tense. A long silence passed by and Shichiyou couldn't stand it.

"We won't do anything. We'll just forget it ever happened and go back to the way things were." She stated boldly. Ryuukyuukei slowly shook his head.

"We can't just 'go back to the way things were'. Those two Soul Reapers aren't just going to act like nothing happened. They're going to report you, and when that happens the Soul Reapers are going to come knocking for answers. Let's face it Shichiyou, souls who were brought to the Soul Society can't have Soul Reaper abilities unless one of their parents is a Soul Reaper. You're an oddity, a rarity, and the Soul Reapers aren't going to stop until they get what they want."

"Ryuukyuukei stop it that's enough." Shida warned.

"But don't you see?! Shichiyou isn't one of us anymore. She isn't a normal soul, she's a Soul Reaper! And they're not going to let her go on as if nothing happened. They are going to take her to that Academy and she is going to be forced to fight Hollows."

"Ryuukyuukei I said that's enough!" Shida yelled. The silence fell over the family again. Shichiyou felt herself shaking but she tried to hide it. Her fight Hollows? There was no way she could do it. After the incident twelve years ago there was no way she could stand up to those creatures.

"But, I don't want Shichiyou to fight those things." Asagao suddenly said.

"None of us do." Shida agreed. There was a long pause before someone spoke up again.

"So, how much time do you think we have left before they come for me?" Shichiyou asked. Everyone turned to look at her. Shida's eyes slowly filled with tears but she tried to wipe them away.

"Who knows, we may have all the time in the world, and then again we may have no time at all." Ryuukyuukei said. Shichiyou looked around the room. Asagao, her mother, father, Ryuukyuukei, they were all so upset. Shichiyou cursed herself. If only she hadn't taken Asagao out and gotten them into that situation! She wouldn't have to even worry about this power and they could get on with their normal lives. It just wasn't fair that her family had to suffer so much because of her.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Everyone's heads lifted and they looked at each other gravely. They knew this moment was coming, but it was so soon, and none of them were ready for it. There was another knock, this one less patient than the one before. Kabashi was the first to rise. He walked to the front door and opened it.

"Can I help you?" He asked trying to keep his voice firm. There were two Soul Reapers standing in the doorway.

"Is this the Hitohana residence?" One of the Soul Reapers asked. He had straight, shoulder length black hair and stared at Kabashi with no emotion.

"Yes it is." Kabashi answered flatly.

"Is Shichiyou Hitohana here?" The other Soul Reaper asked. His hair was midnight blue and tied into a tight ponytail on the back of his head. His eyes didn't show anymore emotion than the other man. Shichiyou took and deep breath and stood.

"I'm here." She replied and walked forward. The two Soul Reapers stared at her and a slight glimmer of shock filled their eyes.

"So they weren't lying." The man with the ponytail said to the straight haired man.

"Guess not." He replied. They both stared at Shichiyou. She felt herself instinctively wishing to reach for her katana but decided against it.

"Miss Hitohana, you have been summoned by the Higher Ones and we have been asked to escort you to see them." The straight haired man explained rather calmly, almost like this happened all the time. Shichiyou felt her heart turn to ice. The Higher Ones wanted to talk to her? This was bad, very bad. The Higher Ones were the leaders of the Soul Society. They controlled what was allowed and what went against the laws and even more impressive than that was the role they played as leaders and overseers of the Soul Academy. They were also considered to be the strongest Soul Reapers in all of the Soul Society.

"Does she have to go now? Can't we wait a few days or-" Kabashi was cut off as the man with the ponytail put up his hand silencing Kabashi.

"I'm afraid we can't do that. The Higher Ones wish to talk to Miss Hitohana as soon as possible. I'm afraid delays are just not in our power to give out at the moment." He explained.

"But maybe just a few hours…"

"Mr. Hitohana I don't think you quite understand the severity of this situation. Your daughter is showing abilities as a Soul Reaper and neither you nor she was born here. Not only that but she is also being charged for attacking two Soul reapers, one of who is in the hospital. This is something that needs to be figured out and dealt with as soon as possible if not sooner. Now, Miss Hitohana, if you would so kind as to come with us, we can't afford to wait much longer." The straight haired man took a step back away from the doorway and so did the man with the ponytail. Kabashi turned to Shichiyou.

"I have no choice. I've been summoned, I have to go." She said. Shichiyou heard a small sob erupt from her mother's mouth and she tried desperately to ignore it. Kabashi went back over to his wife and Shichiyou walked towards the men. She turned back and managed to muster the most convincing smile she could.

"Don't worry about a thing, I'll be back before you know it." She said and stepped out into the chilly night air.

The walk to the Higher Ones' palace was long and very awkward. Neither of the men would look at Shichiyou and all they did was whisper to each other about how they couldn't believe someone so small could cause such an uproar, and wondering about how she had gotten the powers in the first place. Shichiyou tried to tune it out, but at times they made it very difficult.

Finally they arrived at the palace where Shichiyou would meet with the Higher Ones. The palace itself was huge and Japanese-styled. It looked very eerie and foreboding in the darkness. The two men walked up the front steps and entered with Shichiyou trailing behind. They turned down many hallways and corridors and finally came to a room. The sliding doors were closed but Shichiyou could make out silhouettes of people on the other side.

The two men stood on either side of the door and moved their hands towards the doors as if inviting Shichiyou in. Shichiyou swallowed hard and stepped forward. She opened the door and saw many staring, blank eyes following her every movement. She slowly walked into the room, got down on her knees, and bowed to the Higher Ones. She heard someone sigh.

"You do not need to bow, you're wasting time." Shichiyou looked up to see an older man sitting in the center of the room. He was bald but had a long white beard that went to two fine points. His eyebrows were also silver and long. His face looked worn but Shichiyou could also see the strength beneath the wrinkles. He had scars on his head and body, and he looked very muscular for his age. Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryusai was his name. Shichiyou knew that, everyone in the Soul Society knew that. Shichiyou swallowed hard and stared at her hands.

"State your name." A voice suddenly sounded out. Shichiyou dared not move her head to see who had spoken. She sat on her knees with her fists clenched on her legs.

"Shichiyou Hitohana." She said. Her voice cracked slightly but she tried to remain calm.

"Squad number and captain."

"Excuse me?" She asked confused.

"Squad number and captain." The voice repeated. It sounded annoyed.

"I-I don't know." Shichiyou replied. She stared down at her hands and felt her face turn red. She had never felt so dumb and out of place in her entire life.

"So you don't know your squad number or captain?" Shigekuni asked.

"N-no I don't. To be honest I didn't even know I was a Soul Reaper until today." Shichiyou replied. She was shaking.

"Shichiyou Hitohana," the same voice from before rang out, "you have been charged with attacking two Soul Reapers, and causing one injuries that led to him being hospitalized. Also you have been charged with hiding your identity as a Soul Reaper before attacking. How do you plead?" The voice asked.

"But I didn't even know I was a Soul Reaper until-"

"How do you plead?" The voice asked again cutting Shichiyou off. Shichiyou swallowed hard. What could she say? There was no way to prove her innocence and too much evidence to prove her guilt. She swallowed again and sighed.

"I plead guilty to the charges laid against me for attacking and injuring the Soul Reapers but I plead innocent to the charges set against me for attempting to hide my identity as a Soul Reaper." Shichiyou finished staring Shigekuni. There was an uproar of whispers.

"Very well, state your case." Shigekuni said motioning for her to being.

"Um, well, I didn't know I was a Soul Reaper until the moment when I attacked the two Soul Reapers. The only reason I even attacked them was because they were trying to…assault my sister and I." Shichiyou stated firmly. Shigekuni nodded and there were small whispers of protest around the room.

"So you're saying you just got your powers?" Shigekuni asked. Shichiyou didn't answer but nodded her head.

"Impossible. According to our records she is a soul that was brought to the Soul Society twelve years ago. Neither of her parents are Soul Reapers, there is no way she could have the abilities." A new voice said. Shichiyou tensed.

"And yet the proof is right in front of us. She has the robes as well as a Zanpaku-to. She is just as much a Soul Reaper as you or me, she just lacks the training which also proves that she didn't have any idea she was a Soul Reaper until today. A girl her age would have done more damage in a more inconspicuous way if she had proper training would you not all agree?" Shichiyou looked around the room as the people gathered nodded and agreed. They had no choice, the proof was right there. Shichiyou looked up and stared at Shigekuni. He was defending her she realized. A sudden hope blossomed in her. If he was on her side, maybe she had a chance of making it through this after all.

"That may be true, but it doesn't explain how she got the powers. We also need to deal with the fact that she attacked not only one but _two_ Soul Reapers and sent one of them to the hospital." The same voice said. Shichiyou was starting to hate whoever it was.

"You are right. Shichiyou, could you tell us how you got your powers and why you attacked the Soul Reapers? Please do not leave out any details." Shigekuni said. Shichiyou slowly nodded and thought back.

"I was, out with my sister and we were on our way back home. It was late but we didn't think anything could go wrong. Then we ran into the two Soul Reapers. They were drunk and they…tried to have their way with us. They separated my sister and I and all I could hear was her screaming. All I really remember was wishing with my entire being that I could somehow get a strength or some kind of power to save my sister and then use that power to protect others. Then I was suddenly engulfed in a bright light, and I then ended up with the abilities of a Soul Reaper. I then attacked the Soul Reapers not because I was trying to purposely hurt them, I was juts trying to protect myself and my sister." Shichiyou explained.

"So that's your story? You were covered with light and got the powers?" A voice asked.

"Yes that's what I'm saying." Shichiyou replied. She heard someone chuckle.

"What a story." She heard someone else whisper. _They don't believe me_, Shichiyou thought all hope draining away.

"Very interesting." Shigekuni said. Shichiyou looked up at him as tears were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes.

"From the story we heard from the two Soul Reapers they said that they were attacked by a rogue Soul Reaper who had hidden her identity from them and then attacked without warning. Apparently neither of them was prepared and ended up the way they are now." He explained.

"Then what do we do? We can't just let this all go. It's this girl's word against two Soul Reapers." Another voice said.

"That is true, so I have a proposition, a sort of compromise if you will. Shichiyou you are 16 correct?" Shigekuni asked.

"Yes, sir, I am." Shichiyou replied trying to be polite.

"Sixteen is the graduating year for many of our Soul Reapers at the Academy depending, of course, on their own skill level. The new year of training began a few days ago. I want you to go attend the Soul Academy for one full year so you can train yourself properly. If you can get to the level of skill where you can graduate right from the Academy in that one year then you will be able to do whatever you wish. If you want to return to your normal life then I will allow it, or if you wish you can stay and join us as an official Soul Reaper. I can tell you right now it won't be that easy. You will have to join a class of Soul Reapers your own age who have been training since they were children. Do you accept the proposition?" Shigekuni asked. Shichiyou felt all eyes on her. What was she going to do? There was no way she could graduate the Academy with only one year of training. It took years to hone skills good enough to graduate, but she had to do it within _one_ year?! Impossible.

"What if I fail to graduate?" She asked.

"If you fail to graduate then you will be tried in Soul Society court as a rogue Soul Reaper who attacked two other Soul Reapers and hid your identity from them. Such a crime has only one punishment." Shigekuni explained and his face became grave. He didn't need to say anymore. Shichiyou knew exactly what the punishment was if she failed, death.

"So I have two choices, either attend the Academy, or die?" She asked looking down at her hands again. She started shaking all over and her throat felt tight, like she was about to cry.

"Yes those are your choices." Shigekuni replied. Shichiyou felt a smile cross her face. What else could she do?

"Alright I accept your proposition. There's no point in having these powers if I'm just going to die without a proper fight." She replied. She found a new determination in herself, something she thought she had lost long ago.

Shigekuni nodded. "Then tomorrow your training begins. I'll enroll you myself and you will be training under the careful supervision of Toushirou Hitsugaya, captain of the tenth division." Toushirou Hitsugaya? Shichiyou didn't know of him. Then again the only Soul Reapers Shichiyou did know about were Shigekuni, and Byakuya. Shichiyou nodded.

"Captain Yamamoto-Genryusai! We can't just accept this girl into the Academy! She has broken our laws!" A voice yelled angrily.

"As far as I'm concerned this girl only did what any Soul Reaper would do, she protected the ones she cares about. She has accepted my proposition so unless she fails to meet my conditions she will be welcomed to our ranks as a Soul Reaper. That is final." Shigekuni's voice was strong and commanding. It wasn't surprising he was the head captain.

"Shichiyou come to the Academy tomorrow morning and you will begin your training. You may go now." Shigekuni waved his hand motioning for Shichiyou to leave. Shichiyou bowed, stood up, and left the room. The two same Soul Reapers were waiting for her and they escorted her out of the palace and back to her house. She got to the door and bowed to the two men.

"Thank you for escorting me." She said politely. The two men just nodded and left. Shichiyou took a deep breath, turned around, and went into her house. Shida, Kabashi, Ryuukyuukei, and Asagao were sitting in the living room the exact same way they had when she had left. Shida was up in an instant and wrapped her arms around Shichiyou.

"Mom, I can't breathe." Shichiyou said trying to push her mom back.

"Oh, Shichiyou honey, thank goodness, they didn't do anything to you did they?" She asked.

"Mom if you let Shichiyou sit down then she'll explain what happened." Ryuukyuukei said. Shida nodded and went back over to her seat. Shichiyou sat in the arm chair across from the rest of her family and took a deep breath.

"So what did they say?" Ryuukyuukei asked.

"I…have to attend the Soul Academy and train to be a proper Soul Reaper." Shichiyou said. She clenched her fists on her legs and stared at the floor.

"Well, that doesn't seem so bad." Asagao said.

"No, you don't understand. I have to join a class my own age, and graduate from the Soul Academy within one year, or else…" Shichiyou trailed off. How was she supposed to explain anymore? Her family was already suffering enough.

"Or else what?" Her mom asked. Shichiyou lowered her face so her eyes were hidden.

"I'll have to go to court. As of right now I'm charged with being a rogue Soul Reaper and I'm also charged with attacking two Soul Reapers as well as hiding my identity. If I fail to graduate the Academy within a year, I'll be put to death." Shichiyou heard a sob escape from her mother's throat. Tears formed at the corners of Shichiyou's eyes. Before simply hearing she could potentially be put to death had scared her, but to now have to explain it before her family…she could barely stand it.

"But, they can't do that! You were attacked by them! You were defending yourself!" Ryuukyuukei protested angrily.

"It doesn't matter. It's the word of two Soul Reapers against me. I can barely explain how I got my powers in the first place. To everyone else I may look like a normal girl who just happened on some unexpected powers, but in their eyes I'm a rogue Soul Reaper, no one will listen to me." Shichiyou said.

"Then get Asagao to testify as well! The two of you could plea your case!" Ryuukyuukei continued becoming more distressed.

Shichiyou shook her head. "I can't let you do that. For all I know they could just turn that around and charge all of you or housing a rogue Soul Reaper or some stupid thing like that and then you'll all be put to death because of me. I can't let that happen." Shichiyou's nails dug into her skin. Tears fell down her face. Shichiyou heard sobs from her mother. Shichiyou looked up as she saw two small feet come into her field of view. She looked up to see Asagao staring down at her.

"So what are you going to do?" She asked. She had some tears falling down her face but she was acting like nothing was happening.

"What?" Shichiyou asked confused.

"What are you going to do? You have to graduate within a year, so are you just going to sit there, or are you going to do what you can to prove yourself to those jerks?" Shichiyou was shocked. She had never seen her sister so determined before. Shichiyou smiled and wiped away the tears.

"Alright, I guess I'll try my best." Asagao smiled. Shichiyou looked at the rest of her family. Her mother was still crying but she smiled slightly beneath the tears. Her father just looked at her approvingly. Ryuukyuukei just leaned his head back. Shichiyou knew he was trying to hide how upset he was and she smiled at him.

"Well, if you have to be at the Academy I guess you should be getting to bed. Come on everyone, we have work tomorrow as well, let's go." Shida suddenly said. Shichiyou smiled. When her mother was upset or stressed she always liked to take control to calm herself down. Shichiyou stood, said goodnight to her family, and went up to her room. She closed the door and sighed. She slid down and sat on the floor bringing her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin against her knees.

"Shichiyou, are you still awake?" Ryuukyuukei whispered on the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I'm here." Shichiyou replied. She heard a slide as Ryuukyuukei sat down on the floor. They sat in silence. Ryuukyuukei was the first one to speak.

"So you're really going to do it? You're going to go along with their plans?" He asked.

"What choice do I have? I can't beat them, so I have no choice but to join them, or at least try to." Shichiyou sighed.

"But Shichiyou, do you honestly think you could do it? It takes years of training to reach the level some of those Soul Reapers are at. You really think you have a chance?" He asked. Shichiyou felt tears fall down her face.

"I don't know what chance I have, I don't know if I can do it, but I'm going to try. It's the only thing I _can_ do." She replied. She heard Ryuukyuukei chuckle.

"That's so like you, so stubborn and always wanting to prove yourself." Shichiyou smiled. "I think it's because I take after you." She replied. She heard Ryuukyuukei laughed.

"I guess that's true." They fell into silence again. Shichiyou yawned. She was so tired.

"Shichiyou, do me a favour?" Ryuukyuukei suddenly asked.

"What?" Shichiyou asked.

"Don't get yourself killed before the year is up. And if anyone messes with you let me know. I may not be a Soul Reaper but that doesn't mean I can't kick someone's ass."

Shichiyou laughed. "Thanks Ryuu." She replied.

"I mean it though. I'm not your older brother for nothing. It doesn't matter how old you are you'll always be my little sister."

"And you'll always be my older brother, no matter how old you get." Shichiyou replied teasingly.

"Hey watch yourself. I'm not that old." Ryuukyuukei said.

"Yet." Shichiyou replied. They both laughed.

"I guess I better let you go to sleep. It's going to be so quiet around here. I wonder how mom's going to handle the fact that now she has to do the cleaning."

"I'm sure she'll do fine, or make you or Asagao do it."

Ryuukyuukei chuckled. "That much is true," he sighed, "Goodnight Shichiyou. I guess I'll see you in the morning."

"Night Ryuukyuukei." Shichiyou replied. She listened as Ryuukyuukei stood back up and walked down the hall. Shichiyou rested her head against her door. She sighed and slowly lifted herself up. She walked over to her bed and lied down. She stared at her ceiling. Shichiyou wasn't sure how long it took, but she eventually allowed herself to slowly drift into darkness.

Shichiyou woke up to the warmth of the sun on her skin and the chirping of birds outside her window. The weather was the exact opposite of how she felt. Shichiyou figured it should be raining, maybe even a good thunderstorm, but the sun just shone brightly hurting her eyes. She hadn't slept well, her dreams were filled with horrible images of the Soul Reapers searching for her and killing her in horrible ways. Shichiyou shivered trying to erase the images. She slowly slid out of bed and walked into her washroom. Her hair was messier than usual and she had black rings under her eyes. She slowly slipped out of her Soul Reaper uniform and slid into her shower.

"Shichiyou breakfast!" Her mother called as Shichiyou was slowly getting dressed. Her shower had woken her up, but that didn't mean she was ready to start her day any sooner. Shichiyou walked down the stairs and smiled at her family as sincerely as she could. Everyone smiled back but no one said anything. Shichiyou and her family ate their breakfast in silence, only looking up at each other every few minutes.

"Shichiyou I made you some lunch." Shida suddenly said handing Shichiyou a brown paper bag.

"Thanks mom." Shichiyou replied smiling. She walked over and grabbed it. "Well, I guess I'm off." She said standing in the doorway.

"Have a good day." Her mother said.

"See you later." Ryuukyuukei said waving. Suddenly Kabashi and Asagao rushed Shichiyou. They were both crying.

"Shichiyou you can't leave us. My little girl is too big to leave me!" Shichiyou's father whined.

"Shichi, if you go who's going to play with Asagao?" Asagao asked. Suddenly a paper fan came out of nowhere and smacked Kabashi in the head.

"Knock it off both of you! We all have to make sacrifices now that Shichiyou isn't going to be around! I'm not happy about cleaning but you don't see me complaining! Now get back in the kitchen and finish your breakfast!" Shida yelled. She pointed to the kitchen angrily with one hand on her hip. Kabashi and Asagao slowly went back into the kitchen with sullen looks on their faces.

"Now have a good day sweetie." Shichiyou's mother said pleasantly. Shichiyou smiled and went out the door. The sun was warm and the birds were chirping happily. Shichiyou looked around. No one was on the street which was good. She didn't want anyone seeing her going to the Soul Academy. News traveled around this small area quickly and the few people who knew about Shichiyou being a Soul Reaper the better.

"No way, Shichiyou is that you?" Shichiyou tensed and slowly turned around. Standing behind her with the biggest smile on his face was Aserisk. Shichiyou felt her heart drop, he looked amazing in this light.

"A-Aserisk…" She said with a small smile.

"Since when were you a Soul Reaper? Last time I checked you were a waitress at that café."

"Well…uh…since yesterday…I guess." Shichiyou replied. She felt her face go red. She felt so stupid.

"Really? How did you get your powers exactly?" He asked. Why was he asking her so many questions?!

"Well, I don't know, they just sort of came. It's hard to explain." Shichiyou told him. She didn't feel like spilling all her secrets and stories to Aserisk, all she wanted to do was get this day over with.

"Oh, well, I guess we better get going." Aserisk said walking forward.

"Oh, uh, right." Shichiyou agreed walking behind him like a lost puppy. She looked down as she walked behind Aserisk. She glanced up at the back of his head every now and then but mostly stared at the ground. Suddenly she walked into his back. Aserisk turned his head to the side and looked down at her. Suddenly and in one fluid movement he was facing her, his nose so close to hers the tips almost touched. Shichiyou let out a small yelp and jumped back. Her face was glowing bright red.

Aserisk laughed. "You always do that when I get too close. It's funny, and kind of cute." He said. If Shichiyou's face wasn't already bright red, it would be now. He had called her _cute_. Her, Shichiyou, cute! No one had ever called Shichiyou cute in her life.

"You alright in there?" He asked making a fist and lightly tapping Shichiyou on the forehead. She instinctively reached up and covered her forehead.

"Yeah, you just caught me off guard." She replied rubbing the spot. It was easier to talk to him when she wasn't actually looking at him.

"Well get used to it, it's going to happen more often now that we're in the same class." He put his hands on his hips and another bright smile filled his face.

"Wait, what?" Shichiyou asked looking surprised.

"We're in the same class. You're 16 right?" He asked.

"Yeah." Shichiyou replied nodded.

"Well so am I. They usually always put the students in with the same age groups unless someone shows exceptional skills. So since we're both 16, we'll be in the same class." He explained happily. A sudden hope filled Shichiyou. Maybe this wasn't going to be such a bad day after all. Aserisk walked behind her and put his hands on her back pushing her forward.

"We better go, we don't want to be late, Hitsugaya-sensei won't be happy if we're late and if we are then we're really in for it." Shichiyou just nodded and allowed Aserisk to push her forward. After awhile he stopped and they just walked beside each other. Shichiyou's heart slowly calmed down as they walked and spoke to each other. Aserisk was so nice and funny, Shichiyou had never met anyone like him before.

Finally they both came to the large Japanese-style building that was the Soul Academy. Shichiyou had seen it many times on her walks but she had never been in it nor did she ever think she would. _I guess there's a first time for everything_, Shichiyou thought looking up at the building.

"Beautiful isn't it? To think that the great heroes of the Soul Society all went here just like us." Shichiyou looked at Aserisk. He was staring at the building with such awe it warmed her heart. She smiled sweetly. Aserisk suddenly looked at her and blushed slightly.

"Well, I guess we better go." He said scratching the side of his face with one finger trying to hide the redness in his cheeks. Shichiyou smiled again. She had never made a boy blush before.

"You lead the way." She said and Aserisk immediately walked forward with Shichiyou following behind. They walked into the front doors and through many hallways. Aserisk was constantly being stopped in the hallways being greeted by other Soul Reaper trainees, and even sometimes by teachers. Shichiyou followed behind silently with a few people giving her confused stares and some people whispering while looking in her direction.

They passed many classrooms and finally came to two large sliding doors. Aserisk opened them and they walked out into a beautiful courtyard. There was a large oak tree in the far corner, a small stone path in front of them, and a large open area with what looked like scarecrows and wooden pillars with other wooden bars hanging off them.

"That's the training field." Aserisk suddenly said. Shichiyou saw he was motioning towards the large open area.

She nodded. "It's huge."

"It has to be. Actually for the amount of us that is actually pretty small, if it were any smaller, we'd have fewer graduates." Aserisk said with a small laugh. Shichiyou just smiled but swallowed hard. She didn't like it when people mentioned death around her, especially now.

"That huge oak tree over there has been here since I was a kid. It's really nice to have naps under there during breaks."

"You take naps?" Shichiyou asked cocking an eyebrow. Aserisk blushed again and turned away with a slight pout.

"I need my sleep or I get really irritable. Naps are the only way I can get through the day." He replied shrugging his shoulders. Shichiyou smiled and let out a small giggle.

"Uh, anyway moving on I guess." Shichiyou smiled and followed Aserisk through the courtyard. _I embarrassed him_, Shichiyou thought with a small self-satisfaction. If he was going to tease her, she was going to tease him right back. Shichiyou followed Aserisk through the courtyard as he pointed things out to her. She looked up to the sky and smiled as the sun warmed her face. _Maybe this was going to be a good day after all_, she thought to herself. At least that was what she did think, until a high-pitched voice rang out and chilled Shichiyou to the bone.

"Aserisk!" Shichiyou looked forward to see a girl with long, flowing brown hair draping herself over Aserisk's shoulders. She rubbed her face against his like a cat.

"Where have you been I've been looking everywhere for you." She purred a satisfied smile on her face.

"Sorry Yuki, I've been a bit busy." Aserisk replied. Shichiyou looked at him and cocked her head to the side. She had never heard him sound so distant and uninterested before. Yuki suddenly looked up. A slight darkness filled her hazel eyes. Shichiyou stared at her. Yuki was beautiful, one of the most beautiful girls Shichiyou had ever seen.

"Who's this Aserisk?" She asked not taking her eyes off of Shichiyou.

"This is Shichiyou Hitohana, she's new." Aserisk replied. His voice sounded lighter when he said her name, but immediately fell back down again.

"Oh, hi." Yuki said. She slowly slipped off Aserisk's shoulders. She walked around Shichiyou and seemed to be observing her. She stopped in front of Shichiyou. She smiled brightly.

"Hello, my name is Yuki Kurobara." She stated. Shichiyou looked at her. Yuki was at least five foot and was slender. She looked like she considered herself better than those around her, but she seemed nice enough. _Never judge a book by its cover_, Shichiyou reminded herself.

"Hi, I'm Shichiyou Hitohana." Shichiyou replied.

"Yeah I know Aserisk already told me." Yuki said looking at her nails.

"O-oh." Shichiyou just didn't know what to say. This girl was probably the most ridiculously self-centered girl Shichiyou had ever met. Yuki suddenly bent down so her eyes were level with Shichiyou's.

"So you're this new student who wasn't born in the Soul Society and yet you have Soul Reaper capabilities." Yuki said eyeing Shichiyou up and down. Shichiyou didn't like the way Yuki looked at her. It was like she was weighing Shichiyou, seeing if she was even worthy of her time.

"Wow you're pretty short huh." She suddenly said completely throwing Shichiyou off guard. Shichiyou's face burned bright red.

"Oh, uh, well…" Shichiyou couldn't form a coherent sentence.

"Oh isn't that cute, she's shy too." Yuki said standing back up straight and smiling. Shichiyou just looked to the side. There were so many things she wanted to say but couldn't make the words come out.

"Yuki I think that's enough." Aserisk said with so much malice he even scared Shichiyou.

"Oh Aserisk calm yourself. I was just introducing myself. I'm trying to be polite and look at how rude _you're_ being." Yuki said shaking her head. "But don't worry, I still love you." She said with a sweet smile. Aserisk glared at her. Yuki suddenly pouted and threw her arms around Aserisk.

"Don't look at me like that it hurts my feelings. But I'll forgive you if you give me a kiss." Yuki smiled mischievously and puckered her lips. Shichiyou stared dumbfounded. She had never seen anyone so compulsive around a boy before. It was like Yuki had no fears. Aserisk looked up at Shichiyou staring shocked and his face turned red slightly. He looked to the side.

"Yuki don't you have some poisonous reptiles to play with or something?" Aserisk asked coldly. Shichiyou was completely amazed at how much Aserisk had changed. It was like he had pulled a 360 when she wasn't paying attention. She had never seen him like this before. Not that she had seen him that often but it was still odd. Suddenly a ringing sound filled the air. Other Soul Reapers suddenly appeared and they all lined up. They lined up in six lines with four people in each line. Shichiyou stood in her place completely confused. Yuki's face fell.

"Figures." She whispered under her breath.

"Saved by the bell." Aserisk whispered under his. Yuki walked up to the side of Shichiyou. She turned her head to the side and whispered in Shichiyou's ear.

"You should watch yourself, Shichiyou Hitohana, this Academy only has room for one queen, and I can't exactly have you trying to take away my king can I?" Shichiyou looked at her shocked. Yuki smiled evilly and walked away to join the lines.

"Did she say something to you?" Aserisk suddenly asked. Shichiyou's head was spinning. She slowly shook her head. _Great, I just started and I already have an enemy_, she thought.

Aserisk just sighed. "Come on we should go join the others."

"But I don't know where to stand." Shichiyou said.

"That's ok, just stand beside me." Aserisk said smiling. He seemed happier than before but Shichiyou had a feeling if Yuki came over again that was going to disappear as quickly as it came. Aserisk walked forward and Shichiyou followed behind. He stopped at the end of the second line beside Yuki and Shichiyou took a position at the end of the third line on the other side of him. Yuki leaned forward and glared at her but Shichiyou tried to ignore her.

"Good morning students." A voice sounded out. It was stern and commanding.

"Good morning Hitsugaya-sensei." All the students said in unison. Shichiyou looked around. She tried to see if she could find the sensei but thanks to her 4'6" height and the students in front of her she couldn't see anything.

"Alright, we'll begin with a few basic techniques to warm ourselves up." The sensei said. Suddenly Yuki's hand was flying in the air like crazy. Shichiyou heard a sigh.

"What is it Kurobara?" The sensei said.

"I don't know if you were informed or not Hitsugaya-sensei but we have a new student joining us today." Yuki said. She threw Shichiyou a dark smile and Shichiyou's heart beat increased.

"Yes Kurobara I was informed but I don't see why this has to interrupt my lesson." Hitsugaya-sensei said.

"Well I just figured since she's new and she _somehow_ got Soul Reaper abilities even though she's an _outside_ soul I thought it might interest the class if she introduced herself and told her story." Yuki said looking as innocent as possible. Interested whispering voices filled the area. Shichiyou wanted to glare at Yuki, wanted to pull out her katana and stab her right in that smug smile of hers but all she could focus on was her distressed heart. She heard another sigh.

"Fine, Shichiyou Hitohana would you come forward please?" Shichiyou tensed when she heard her name. She knew she needed to move but her feet just weren't listening to her.

"Shichiyou Hitohana?" The voice asked again.

"Shichiyou are you ok?" Aserisk whispered to her. Shichiyou nodded and suddenly felt her legs carrying her forward. She walked past the people in front of her who looked at her and the whispered to the people beside them. She felt so insanely awkward and without Aserisk beside her she felt completely alone. She continued to walk forward and then walked into the open courtyard. She looked up instinctively but was shocked when she couldn't see her new sensei. She looked to the left, right, and then down. She stood shocked. Her new sensei, who she was supposed to look up to and respect as her superior, was shorter than she was!


	4. Chapter Three: Yuki's Challenge

**Chapter Three**

**Yuki's Challenge**

Shichiyou stood completely still and speechless. Her new sensei may have only been one or two inches shorter than she was, and maybe no one else would notice, but she definitely did. She had never met _anyone_ shorter than her since she was eleven years old. The only people that were shorter than her were usually half her age or younger. Yet here she was, face to face with someone who she could, in a sense, look down to.

"What are you staring at?" Her sensei asked angrily.

"Oh, um, nothing." Shichiyou replied blushing slightly. She wasn't really staring, so much as observing. Her sensei had lightly tanned skin and white hair that was spiked up with a single piece going up but then falling just over his left eye. He was about 4'4" and was wearing the same outfit as her, but with a captain's traditional white cloak over top. His eyes were what interested Shichiyou the most. They were a light green almost teal colour. They were so bright and vibrant. Shichiyou stared at his face and realized that he would be cute, if he wasn't scowling at her right this minute.

"Are you Shichiyou Hitohana?" He asked. His voice was stern and commanding. Not surprising considering he was a captain.

"Uh, yes…sir." Shichiyou added quickly.

"Well then, you might as well introduce yourself to the class seen as we've already wasted enough time as is." He said sighing angrily. Shichiyou swallowed and nodded. She turned around to see a whole bunch of eyes staring at her. She looked down and felt her face turn red. Shichiyou started playing with her hands nervously.

"Umm, h-hello. M-my name is S-Shichiyou Hitohana, a-and I-I hope I-I'll meet s-some new people w-while I'm here." Shichiyou said still fidgeting with her hands. She felt so stupid standing there while they all watched her like hawks.

"So how did you get your powers?" She heard a high-pitched voice asking. She knew right away it was Yuki and she glared angrily at her hands. She took a deep breath and looked up. Shichiyou knew Yuki was challenging her, trying to make her look weak, but there was no way Shichiyou was going to let her do that, at least she was going to try and not let it happen.

"M-my sister and I were out for a walk, and we stayed out later than usual. As we were w-walking back we ran into two soul reapers and they were drunk and they tried to…attack my sister and I. One of them grabbed my sister and I knew I had to help her. I-I'm not sure how it happened but I prayed for strength and the next thing I knew I was wearing this black outfit, with a sword covered in blood in my hand and the two soul reapers were gone." Shichiyou explained trying to ignore the parts about the voice and what the men were _really _planning to do with her and her sister.

Interested murmurs filled the air. Everyone was talking about what Shichiyou had just said. Shichiyou looked through the crowd to see Yuki giving her an evil glare. Shichiyou smiled sweetly back and Yuki's glare became deadly. Shichiyou ignored her and looked through the crowd until she finally caught eyes with Aserisk. He smiled when he saw she was looking at him and Shichiyou smiled back. Well, at least she knew someone was on her side.

"I think that's good enough, Hitohana get back to your place in line so I can start this class." Shichiyou's sensei ordered shooing her with his hand.

"Uh, yes sensei." She said while quickly bowing. She practically ran back to her place beside Aserisk and sighed with relief.

"You ok Shichiyou?" He asked sarcastically.

"Y-yeah, I just get nervous in front of other people." She explained feeling the colour drain away from her face slowly. Shichiyou wiped her forehead to try and get rid of the beaded sweat on her forehead.

"Oh, are you? I'm sorry if I had known I would have never asked for you to speak up there." Shichiyou looked over at Yuki who had an expertly mastered expression of remorse on her face. Shichiyou just smiled.

"Well I never said anything, and you never asked so I'm not surprised." She said sweetly. Already Shichiyou could see the sparks flaring between Yuki and herself. Yuki opened her mouth to retort when the same stern voice from before spoke up.

"Kurobara, Hitohana, incase you haven't noticed I am _trying_ to start a class so if you two could shut your mouths I can get started." Yuki glared at Shichiyou before turning back to face forward.

"Yes Hitsugaya-sensei." She said. Shichiyou turned back forward as well.

"Yes Hitsugaya-sensei." Shichiyou repeated.

"Good, now seen as you've all just recently come back from a short and completely unnecessary break we'll be going over the basics." Shichiyou heard groans fill the group.

"Don't you all groan at me now take out your zanpaku-to and we can begin." Everyone pulled their katana out of their sheaths at the same time. Shichiyou looked around and nervously fumbled trying to pull her zanpaku-to out. She almost dropped it twice trying to pull it out. She heard Yuki chuckle and Aserisk threw her a dark glare. He then turned back to Shichiyou and smiled.

"Calm down. Just follow what I do and you'll figure it out." He said. Shichiyou nodded and looked forward. She held her zanpaku-to out in front of her like everyone else and waited for someone to move.

"Alright everyone, you know the drill, horizontal thrust, and you may begin." Hitsugaya-sensei said. Immediately everyone started thrusting their zanpaku-to. Shichiyou jumped slightly surprised and started following everyone else. Shichiyou swung her zanpaku-to like she was told. _Well, this isn't so bad_, she thought to herself, _all I need to do is swing my zanpaku-to and I'll be fine_.

"Alright switch." She heard Hitsugaya-sensei order. Suddenly everyone started swinging vertically, jabbed once, swung horizontally, and then started all over again. It took Shichiyou a few missed swings in order for her to pick up the pattern. _I think I spoke too soon…I hope no one noticed_. She looked around, but everyone seemed to be more concentrated on their own drills than on Shichiyou's mistakes.

Shichiyou kept up the pace as well as she could, but after almost half an hour of doing the same drills she could already feel the ache in her shoulders and small beads of sweat on her brow. She looked around and was shocked to find no one else was even sweating! They looked like this came as naturally as eating or breathing. _What in the world have I signed myself up for_? Shichiyou thought her face falling.

Suddenly a flicker of white hair caught Shichiyou's eye and she looked over to see Hitsugaya-sensei walking by everyone. Shichiyou felt her heartbeat quicken. She did her best to keep up with the others but she could feel her hands shaking. If she wanted to survive she needed to prove herself to Hitsugaya-sensei, but she could already feel her clammy hands start to lose grip on her zanpaku-to. _Oh no, I'm going to drop it_! Shichiyou realized with horror. She felt the hilt slowly slide forward and just as she was about to lose it a loud voice filled the air.

"Stop!" It ordered. Everyone stopped and Shichiyou stopped just in time to take hold of her zanpaku-to. Shichiyou stood straight like the others with her zanpaku-to in front of her. Suddenly Hitsugaya-sensei was standing in front of her. Shichiyou swallowed hard. _Oh God, did I do something wrong_? She wondered.

"Hitohana, what happened to your zanpaku-to?" He suddenly asked. Shichiyou was caught off guard.

"W-what?" She asked confused.

"I don't like repeating myself Hitohana I suggest you keep that in mind. I asked, what happened to your zanpaku-to?" He said the ending of his sentence slowly.

"I-I don't know. It was like this when I got it…Hitsugaya-sensei." She added. Hitsugaya-sensei looked at her zanpaku-to. Shichiyou felt her face flush. Hitsugaya-sensei grabbed the blade lightly examining it.

"_Son of a bitch better let go of me. No man touches me without my permission_."

"What Hitsugaya-sensei?" Shichiyou asked.

"I didn't say anything Hitohana. And I'd prefer it if you said 'pardon' or 'excuse me' instead of 'what'." He said without looking up at Shichiyou.

"Yes Hitsugaya-sensei." Shichiyou replied. She felt everyone staring at her and her face burned red.

"This is one of the oddest zanpaku-to I have ever seen. These cracks, they don't make sense. Tell me, Hitohana, did you break it at all?"

"No Hitsugaya-sensei. It was like this when I unsheathed it. I don't know why it's cracked." Shichiyou explained.

"I see, I suppose it's fine, as long as your zanpaku-to doesn't break in the middle of a battle it shouldn't be _too_ useless." Hitsugaya-sensei said. He flicked the blade as if to test it and then walked back to the front of the class.

"_You son of a bitch I dare you to come back here and say that to my face! I'll kick your ass! 'Useless', you wouldn't know usefulness if it came out of nowhere and kicked the shit out of you_!" Shichiyou heard the voice again. She blinked and looked around. No one seemed to have moved their mouth and she couldn't figure out where it had come from. Suddenly Shichiyou saw a pale hand shoot up into the air.

"Hitsugaya-sensei!" Shichiyou groaned as she heard the high-pitched voice she had come to hate.

"Ugh, what is it now Kurobara?" Hitsugaya-sensei asked annoyed.

"I was wondering, since we're done the drills, is there a chance I could…test Hitohana?" Shichiyou froze. What was Yuki talking about, "testing" her?

"What are you talking about Kurobara?" Hitsugaya-sensei asked.

"What I'm saying is that I think it would be a good idea to test Hitohana's abilities. Maybe in a, oh I don't know, _one_-_on_-_one_ fight? Just Hitohana and myself. It won't be anything horrible, just a normal sword fight with just our zanpaku-to. She did take on _two_ graduated soul reapers by herself, so _I_ should be _no_ problem for her. This is also a good way to check for any…flaws in her zanpaku-to. If it breaks during our fight then it'll be useless." Yuki eyed Shichiyou slyly. Shichiyou was frozen. Sure, she may have beaten those two soul reapers, but she was protecting her sister, and in some sort of, adrenaline rush induced trance. She hardly remembered what she did. On top of all that the soul reapers were drunk and delusional! To fight Yuki, an already trained and completely aware soul reaper, was suicide.

Hitsugaya-sensei groaned.

"Alright fine, I can't take much more of your interruptions anyway. Hitohana, Kurobara get to the sparring field." He said. Everyone moved off towards an area blocked off from the rest of the training area by a two-foot wall.

"Hitsugaya-sensei, maybe I should fight Shi- I mean Hitohana. She'll be more comfortable fighting someone she knows. This is one of her first fights after all." Aserisk tried to defend.

"Hydelas that is exactly why Kurobara should fight Hitohana. She will be fighting Hollows eventually and as you know it is impossible to be comfortable fighting them for even a minute. Also we already know this is Hitohana's _second_ fight so she should therefore have no problem." Hitsugaya-sensei stated crossing his arms.

"But, but tou- I mean Hitsugaya-sensei she, there's no way she-"

"Hydelas that's enough. It's a simple fight. They won't be saying their zanpaku-to names and if it gets out of hand I will step in to stop it." Hitsugaya-sensei stated finally. Aserisk opened his mouth to defend Shichiyou but closed it when he realized it was useless. When Hitsugaya-sensei used that tone, it meant what he said was final. Aserisk walked over to Shichiyou and led her to the sparring field.

"Look, here's a 30 second run down of how to fight. Make sure to keep your guard up, watch your opponent's movements, and make sure to not let them see what you're going to do next. As long as you can read your opponent and they can't read you, you should be fine."

"But Aserisk I have no idea _how_ to read people. I don't know what I'm doing!" Shichiyou said.

"It's mostly instinct. If worse comes to worse your soul reaper instincts will kick in. If they don't work, Hitsugaya-sensei will step in if it gets out of hand. At least that's what he said. I'll be there too, ok, so try not too worried about it." Aserisk smiled as sweetly as he could. Shichiyou tried to smile, but it quickly faded as they drew nearer to the sparring field. They came to the 2-foot wall. Aserisk took Shichiyou's hand and helped lift her up on it and then down into the field. _And they said chivalry was dead_, Shichiyou thought trying to calm the churning feeling in her stomach.

Shichiyou walked to the middle of the field where Yuki was already waiting for her. Yuki glared darkly at Shichiyou. Hitsugaya-sensei walked onto the field and stood a few feet away from Shichiyou and Yuki.

"Hitohana, Kurobara, this will be a clean fight using zanpaku-to and your own physical strength as weapons. Anything goes but the only thing I will not allow is for you to call the name of your zanpaku-to. Understand?"

"Why of course Hitsugaya-sensei." Yuki replied sweetly.

"Yes Hitsugaya-sensei." Shichiyou agreed. Actually she had no idea what Hitsugaya-sensei was talking about, so it wasn't really that important that she couldn't call her zanpaku-to name. She didn't even know zanpaku-to had names. And if they did, she didn't know the name of hers. That didn't matter now, all that mattered was that she had to somehow find a way to defeat Yuki.

"Good, then you can begin as soon as you're ready." Hitsugaya-sensei said and then gracefully left the field. Yuki unsheathed her zanpaku-to and Shichiyou did as well trying to look like she knew what she was doing.

"So, are you going to make the first strike or am I?" Yuki asked.

"Uh…"

"Too slow." Suddenly Yuki was lunging herself at Shichiyou. Shichiyou stumbled back shocked and fell backwards narrowly dodging a horizontal strike. _Suddenly I'm very thankful of being _clumsy. Shichiyou thought breathing a sigh of relief. She quickly stood and stood as strong as she could manage. Yuki lunged at her again and this time Shichiyou put her zanpaku-to up just in time to block a direct jab at her stomach. She flew from Yuki and landed hard on her back. The wind was knocked out of her and she found herself gasping for breath. Shichiyou slowly lifted herself from the ground using her zanpaku-to for support. Yuki was smiling at her. Shichiyou couldn't believe such a shock of power could come from such a small girl.

"Done already? I have to admit I'm quite disappointed." Yuki smiled slyly.

"_Stupid bitch, I'll slice her in half…_" Again the weird voice sounded out. Shichiyou shook her head trying to ignore it and lifted herself back up.

"I'm not finished yet." Shichiyou said pointing her zanpaku-to at Yuki. Yuki's smile fell and she threw herself at Shichiyou again. Shichiyou put up her zanpaku-to ready for Yuki's attack. Shichiyou braced herself and just as she was about to parry Yuki's attack, Yuki moved to the right and sliced Shichiyou across the back. Shichiyou cringed and gasped in pain. She leaned forward and instinctively reached for her back. She forgot about Yuki, all she could think about was the pain.

"Oh, does that hurt? I'm so sorry!" Yuki said while kicking Shichiyou in the back exactly where she had just slashed her. Shichiyou screamed. She fell forward and blood trickled down her back.

"_Shichiyou, you stupid bitch, get up_!"

"But, it hurts, it hurts so much." Shichiyou whispered. Tears were falling down her face.

"_Look you little whining idiot I have been embarrassed enough through this fight I am _not_ going to let you keep abusing my reputation like this! Now get up and kick the shit out of that little bitch now_!"

"But how? I have no idea what I'm doing." Shichiyou said slowly bringing herself to her knees.

"How pathetic, she's so pitiful she's talking to herself." Yuki said. Small giggles filled the area.

"Shichiyou, come on get up! I know you can do it!" Shichiyou looked over to see Aserisk cheering for her. His face was filled with concern. Shichiyou smiled.

"He believes in me." She whispered to herself happily.

"_Of course he does, but he won't if you just sit there dicking around_." The voice said. Shichiyou slowly pushed herself to her feet. She turned to face Yuki. The tears had dried on her face and she was ready to fight, at least she hoped she was.

"That's it Shichiyou. You can do it!" Aserisk yelled happily. Shichiyou turned to him and smiled. Suddenly there was a large impact between Shichiyou's stomach and another object. She staggered backwards and held her stomach. She looked up to see Yuki glaring fiercely at her. Without another word Yuki lunged at her again. Shichiyou was prepared and she tried her hardest to ignore the searing pain in her stomach. Shichiyou blocked more of Yuki's attacks. _Why is it easier for me to block her attacks_? Shichiyou wondered.

"_Because she's angry. Anger is one of the worst emotions to portray in a fight. Anger leads to false confidence, which also leads you to make mistakes. Anger blinds you in a fight, as does any emotion. You did something to piss Yuki off so now she's trying to hack you to pieces but she isn't as smooth as she was before. Her jabs and slices are awkward and off target. Right now all she cares about is trying to take you apart piece by piece_." The voice replied.

_But what in the world did I do to her_? Shichiyou asked in her mind. She didn't even care who the voice was, all she knew was the voice was trying to help.

"_You honestly can't tell? She's in love with good ol' Aserisk over there. She sees you as competition for his affection and as you can clearly see, she'll kill you if she has to as long as she gets Aserisk in the end_."

_But I don't even like Aserisk. I mean I do like him but not like _that. Shichiyou thought shocked.

"_You think she cares? All she knows is that you are closer with Aserisk than she's ever been so she officially hates your guts. Ugh, teenage drama pisses me off_." The voice said obviously irritated. Shichiyou was having trouble concentrating on her blocks and on the voice at the same time. Suddenly Yuki tripped Shichiyou and Shichiyou fell against the two-foot wall that blocked the sparring field off from everything else. Shichiyou gasped in pain again as she hit her cut. Yuki lifted her foot and pressed it against Shichiyou's chest. She started pressing her weight under her foot and Shichiyou could hardly breathe.

"Does that hurt?" Yuki asked. Shichiyou just glared at her. Yuki pressed harder.

"I said, _does that hurt_?" She asked with more force.

"No." Shichiyou managed to spit out. She was not going to lose to Yuki.

"Too bad, I guess I'll just have to try harder." Yuki replied pressing even harder. Shichiyou gasped trying to get some air into her lungs.

"Shichiyou!" Aserisk called.

"Hydelas no, this is not your fight." Hitsugaya-sensei said grabbing Aserisk's arm. Shichiyou grabbed Yuki's foot with her free hand. She kept tight hold of her zanpaku-to with the other. Yuki had started pressing even harder. She leaned forward.

"The only reason he even goes near you is because he pities you." Yuki whispered into Shichiyou's ear.

"That's not true…he's my friend." Shichiyou replied.

"You say that now, but as soon as you can take care of yourself he'll dump you like he did everyone else in this academy." Yuki said.

"W-what are you talking about?" Shichiyou asked.

"Aserisk is a nice guy, if he knows he can use you to impress the higher-ups. Ever since he started attending this academy all he has ever done is treat those he can control with respect and admiration, and then he dumps them on the curb. Aserisk is power hungry, and if helping an insignificant soul reaper will impress the big boys Aserisk will do it without even batting an eyelash. He's done it before, he'll do it again." Shichiyou froze. Could it be true? Would Aserisk help her, and then leave her to fend for herself when she was useless to him? But why? He was so nice to her, could he really only be using her?

"_Shichiyou I swear to God if you are listening to the shit oozing out of that mouth of hers I am going to destroy you from the inside out_." The voice said.

_But what if it's true_? Shichiyou asked.

"_You really think anything this chick says is true? She's a bitch! She will say whatever she can to make you give up and lose. If Aserisk is only using you to gain a favour with the higher-ups, then he is and you can't do anything about it. But if you sit there and whine like a stupid little child than you are not worthy of being a soul reaper_." The voice replied angrily. Shichiyou thought about this. She came here to prove herself, and make sure she didn't get executed. She couldn't sit and cry because a person she considers a friend leaves her. Friends always come and go, at least that's what people had told her.

_Alright I get it, but how do I get her foot off my chest_? Shichiyou asked.

"_Look, I will help you this _once_. Only because I don't want to look like an idiot in my first public fight. Now listen closely, you need to get her mad again_."

_I have to _what?! Shichiyou demanded.

"_Trust me, this girl becomes stupid when she's angry, so make her mad. I'll lead you on what to do after that_."

_But how do I get her mad_? Shichiyou asked.

"_Hell if I know, figure it out yourself_." The voice replied. Shichiyou sighed. She needed to think of something, and fast. Suddenly it hit her.

Shichiyou looked up at Yuki, sadness filling her eyes.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Yuki asked confused.

"I, just can't help but feel sorry for you." Shichiyou replied.

"Excuse me?" Yuki asked caught off guard. The pressure she put on Shichiyou's chest increased but Shichiyou ignored it.

"You say Aserisk feels pity for me, and that may be true, but I feel pity for _you_ Yuki." Shichiyou said using Yuki's first name for the first time.

"The only thing you should be feeling right now is your last breath slowly leaving your lungs." Yuki said maliciously.

"I can, but that doesn't change anything, you're lonely aren't you?"

"Wha-what?" Yuki asked caught off guard again.

"I can tell, just by looking at you. You're lonely and so you cling on to the only thing you feel comfortable with, and that's Aserisk. His feelings don't matter as long as you have someone who you know will pay attention to you."

"Shut up!" Yuki yelled. Shichiyou gasped in pain but couldn't help feeling slightly proud of herself.

_I'm getting to her_. She thought happily.

"_Hell yes you are. Now keep it up she's right on the breaking point. You want her to get to the point where she picks up her zanpaku-to and tries to stab you with it, when she does that I want you to roll to the right_." The voice explained.

_Why the right_? Shichiyou asked.

"_Because Yuki is left-handed. If she stabs, she will closer to your left side. By rolling to the right you can get out of the way without a scratch_." The voice explained.

_I got it_. Shichiyou replied and turned her attention to Yuki.

"You are lonely, and you feel abandoned. I'm just a block that is stopping you from getting the attention you so greatly desire. Why do you think you're always draping yourself over Aserisk and making a scene? You crave the attention because it makes you feel strong and important." She continued.

"I said _shut up_!" Yuki screamed. She pushed harder than before and Shichiyou yelled out in pain. Her face fell forward so you couldn't see her eyes beneath her bangs. Shichiyou was hurt, but not done yet.

"Tell me, Yuki, does it hurt, knowing as soon as you go home, you'll be again drowned in the dark loneliness that has plagued your life once again?" Shichiyou felt Yuki stiffen. Shichiyou looked up and gasped. Yuki's eyes were filled with pure hatred and anguish.

"_Nice call Shichiyou, I think you hit a home run with that one_." The voice said happily. Yuki's grip tightened around the hilt of her zanpaku-to. Shichiyou prepared to move. Yuki lifted it and screamed while stabbing at Shichiyou. Shichiyou quickly rolled to the right. Yuki missed her by a long shot. Shichiyou stood up and took the only real fighting stance she could manage. Her feet were squared for easy movement, and her zanpaku-to was right in front of her. Yuki turned to her, her bangs flowing in the wind as she moved her head. Her eyes were dark and angry.

_Oh, I didn't mean to make her that angry_. Shichiyou thought.

"_No trust me, you did. If she's this pissed off beating her is going to be so easy. Now listen up, Yuki is probably going to run at you seen as right now she's too far away. When she does I want you to jump to the left. When Yuki turns to face you jump to the right and bring your zanpaku-to out to cut her across the stomach or chest, for your height most likely the stomach_." The voice commanded. Shichiyou waited. Just like the voice said Yuki rushed her. Shichiyou jumped to the left. When Yuki turned to face her Shichiyou jumped to the right and ran at Yuki. She brought her zanpaku-to up and swung it at Yuki. Yuki wasn't prepared for the attack and tried to block it, but Shichiyou was too fast. Shichiyou cut Yuki across the side and blood spurted from Yuki's side. Yuki screamed in pain and frustration.

"I'll kill you!" She yelled coming at Shichiyou again. Yuki started slashing and jabbing at Shichiyou.

"_Right, left, front, duck, left, right…_" The voice was continually giving out directions.

"Impossible. How can you block my attacks to easily now?!" Yuki asked outraged. Shichiyou heard some impressed murmurs around the field.

"_Ok Shichiyou we need to finish this, it's taking way too long. What I want you to do is let her stab at you but don't move_."

_What?! She'll kill me_! Shichiyou thought shocked.

"_No she won't, this is what I want you to do. As she jabs I want you to wait until I say now, when I do shift to the right. She'll miss you, and maybe slice off a piece of cloth but that doesn't matter. When she jabs she'll be putting her full force behind it so when she misses she'll still be moving forward. When she's just past you I want you to take the hilt of your zanpaku-to and smash her head with it. It won't kill her, you're not nearly strong enough to do that, but it will at least knock her unconscious. Got it_?" The voice asked.

_Y-yeah, I got it_. Shichiyou replied nervously.

"_Alright, get ready_." The voice commanded. Shichiyou took her place in front of Yuki with her legs shoulder width apart.

"You're dead Hitohana." Yuki said through gritted teeth. She ran at Shichiyou her zanpaku-to brought back preparing for a full force stab. Shichiyou waited, sweat trickling down her forehead. She was tired, so the voice was right to say they needed to end this. Yuki finally got close enough to make her attack.

"Die Hitohana!" She yelled.

"Shichiyou look out!" Shichiyou heard Aserisk call, but she ignored him, the only voice she needed to listen to, was the voice in her mind.

"_Not yet…now_!" The voice yelled. Shichiyou snapped into action and slowly shifted herself to the right in one smooth motion. Yuki's eyes filled with shock and everyone gasped. Yuki tried to correct herself but she had already lost her footing. Shichiyou waited.

"_Alright kid, hit her…now_!" The voice commanded again. Shichiyou quickly brought up her zanpaku-to and brought it down on Yuki's the back of Yuki's head. Yuki's eyes filled with shock but immediately lost their pallor and she fell to the ground. She didn't move. Shichiyou took in a breath and felt tears come to her eyes.

"I-I did it." She whispered to herself.

"_Hell yes you did! So why the hell are you crying_?" The voice asked.

"I guess I feel bad." Shichiyou replied.

"_For what? She had every intent to kill you then. One thing you should remember kid, never feel sorry for you opponents, they can easily turn and stab you in the back when you're least expecting it_." The voice advised.

"O-ok I'll keep that in mind. I-I just can't stop crying." Shichiyou replied trying to wipe away the tears.

"_Oh for the love of God…_" The voice groaned but didn't continue. Shichiyou tensed and gasps filled the air as a strange aura filled the sparring field. Shichiyou looked down to see Yuki slowly trying to get up. Shichiyou panicked and did the only instinctual thing she could think of, jump back from the danger.

"_No you idiot, you should have smacked her again! Don't give your enemy a chance to recover_!" The voice yelled.

_I-I'm sorry! I didn't know what to do_! Shichiyou thought defensively.

"_Honestly this is why I hate amateurs_." The voice groaned. Yuki was slowly getting off the ground. Soon she was standing on her feet and an odd wind was blowing around the field throwing Yuki's hair around her face. Yuki turned her head to the side. Shichiyou froze. Yuki's eyes were filled with murderous intent. _Oh my God, she's going to kill me_. Shichiyou thought to herself completely terrified. She knew Yuki wanted her dead, but now it seemed way too serious. Shichiyou started shaking.

"_Shichiyou? Shichiyou Hitohana answer me right now_!" The voice ordered, but Shichiyou couldn't respond. It was like her entire body was frozen solid. Yuki's eyes were terrifying. Shichiyou couldn't help thinking of the Hollow that tried to kill her so long ago. Yuki turned fully to face Shichiyou.

"I'm going to kill you." Yuki said. It was hardly even a whisper but Shichiyou caught it and it only terrified her more. This wasn't the angry Yuki she was fighting before, this was the killer Yuki and she wanted Shichiyou's blood on her blade. Shichiyou was trapped, the voice wasn't even reaching her anymore. Yuki suddenly ran towards Shichiyou. She brought her zanpaku-to and opened her mouth.

"Shugotenshiawai!" She screamed.

"Kurobara no!"

"Yuki no!" Aserisk and Hitsugaya-sensei yelled at the same time. Shichiyou's eyes grew wide. Suddenly a bright light emitted from Yuki's zanpaku-to. Shichiyou covered her eyes to protect them. The light was blindingly bright. When Shichiyou could finally open her eyes the light was slowly fading. She was shocked to see Hitsugaya-sensei blocking Yuki's attack and Aserisk was standing behind Yuki pulling her back by the arms.

"Let me go! Let me go, let me go!" Yuki screamed trying to break free from Aserisk.

"Kurobara that is enough! I specifically told you to _not_ call the name of your zanpaku-to!" Hitsugaya-sensei yelled pushing her back.

"Let me go! I'll kill her! Let me finish this!" Yuki screamed. Shichiyou stood completely still. She was still terrified, hardly breathing. Her entire body was shaking.

"Yuki Kurobara put your zanpaku-to down _now_!" Hitsugaya-sensei ordered. Shichiyou was shocked at how stern his voice was. Suddenly Yuki went limp and her zanpaku-to fell from her hand. It was quiet for a while.

"I-is she o-ok?" Shichiyou finally asked.

"She's unconscious. I think you hit her harder than you realized. That entire blast of energy was most likely from pure adrenaline." Aserisk explained.

"No, that burst of energy came from her absolute need to kill you Hitohana. She was most likely still unconscious that entire time, but her sub-conscious was forcing her to continue." Hitsugaya-sensei corrected.

"C-can you d-do that?" Shichiyou asked.

"It's rare but not unheard of." Hitsugaya-sensei explained. He put his index finger under his nose and his thumb under his chin thinking. Shichiyou didn't say anything else. Suddenly violent tremors took over her entire body. Her legs were heavy and she couldn't keep herself up. She collapsed and hugged herself. Shichiyou started rocking and her entire body was shaking. Tears fell down her face but she didn't make a sound. The tears just fell freely and uncontrollably.

"Shichiyou…" Aserisk said completely caught off guard and with deep concern. Aserisk reached down to help Shichiyou up but Hitsugaya-sensei reached her first.

"You take Kurobara. She should be fine, just make sure to bandage that scratch on her side. I'll take Hitohana to the infirmary." Hitsugaya-sensei lifted Shichiyou up draping her arm around his shoulders. He started walking forward half carrying, half dragging Shichiyou with him.

"Hey, Hitohana, you alright?" He asked. He didn't sound concerned or even worried, more like annoyed that he had to actually take care of one of his students.

"I-I think…I-I just can't stop shaking." Shichiyou replied tears still falling from her eyes.

"Shell-shocked I suppose." Hitsugaya-sensei said mostly to himself. He finally reached the main building of the academy. Shichiyou was staring blankly and her mind was reeling. She was almost _killed_. By a student in her class! They weren't supposed to kill _each other_. The look in Yuki's eyes, the way she tried to kill Shichiyou even when she was still unconscious, Shichiyou had never seen anything like it.

"_Hey, Shichiyou, you ok there kid_?" The voice from before asked.

_Shut up_. Shichiyou replied emotionlessly.

"_Hey, come on. Look I'm sorry for what happened ok? I didn't think her reaction would be that…_intense_. I thought she'd just fumble around and then you could beat her and be done with it. I didn't think she'd actually_-"

_I said shut up. Leave me alone_. Shichiyou demanded.

"_Come on kid, I didn't _know."

_Shut the hell up and get out of my mind_! Shichiyou screamed in her mind with so much force she scared herself. The voice was quiet for awhile before Shichiyou heard a small sigh.

"_Fine then, be a bitch. Next time you need me, just call my name, if you can that is_." The voice said coldly and then disappeared. Shichiyou suddenly felt empty. Like a piece of her had been taken away. She decided to ignore it.

"We're here." Hitsugaya-sensei said. Shichiyou slowly lifted her head as they came to a room that, on the outside, looked like the same as all the other rooms. The only difference was that this one had a sign above the door that read "Infirmary". Hitsugaya-sensei opened the door and took Shichiyou in. Shichiyou slowly looked around the room. There was no one else there. The room itself was unusually bright with small beds and it smelled like rubbing alcohol. The window at the back of the room was open and a slight breeze was blowing in moving the curtains. Hitsugaya-sensei put Shichiyou on the ground. She wobbled on her feet slightly, but other than that she was stable.

"Go sit on one of the beds." He said and walked towards a few cupboards. Shichiyou wobbled shakily to the closest bed and sat down. It felt good to finally sit on something soft and comfortable. Shichiyou sighed in relief. She could already feel herself starting to calm down, but she knew relations between her and Yuki were going to be even more stressed than they were before. She wiped at the drying tears on her face. That was enough crying for one day.

Hitsugaya-sensei came over after rummaging through the cupboards with bandages and disinfectant. He put them down on a small table by the bed.

"Alright Hitohana, I need you to take your shirt off." Shichiyou's face bloomed bright red and she gasped.

"Excuse me?" She demanded. Hitsugaya-sensei looked at her and his face filled with shock as he realized what he had just asked her to do. The two of them were alone in a room, no one was close to where they were, Shichiyou was sitting on a bed, and Hitsugaya-sensei had just asked her to take her shirt off.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Hitsugaya-sensei defended angrily but Shichiyou couldn't stop from noticing the light pink that filled his cheeks.

"J-just leave the b-bandages I-I can do it myself." Shichiyou said. Her heart was pounding and she was nervous as usual.

"You're shaking too badly to do it properly and it's on your back you won't be able to reach it. Just turn around if you're that embarrassed." Hitsugaya-sensei said sighing angrily.

"Turning around doesn't change the fact that I'm a girl, with no shirt on, and you're a guy, and…" Shichiyou couldn't continue. Her face was beaming red.

"Look even if you were shirtless there isn't much to look at." Hitsugaya-sensei replied. He then looked even more shocked at what he had just said.

"What?!" Shichiyou demanded.

"Look, no, that came out wrong!" Hitsugaya-sensei defended.

"I-I'll do it myself." Shichiyou replied. She reached for the bandages.

"No, you can't bandage yourself properly. I'll do it if you'd just calm down." Hitsugaya-sensei practically yelled reaching for the bandages at the same time.

"N-no I can do it!" Shichiyou replied as angrily as she could manage.

"No you can't! Just let me do it!" Hitsugaya-sensei yelled. Shichiyou grabbed the bandages just as Hitsugaya-sensei did. Their hands made contact. Shichiyou blushed brightly and immediately jumped back with a small yelp. Hitsugaya-sensei looked at her shocked.

"What was that?" He asked.

"I-I don't know. I'm just nervous. You make me nervous." She replied honestly. Hitsugaya-sensei did make her nervous. He was her sensei and had so many more years of experience compared to her. It also didn't help that he looked angry all the time and he also was at this moment asking her to take her shirt off, whether it was for bandages or not.

Hitsugaya-sensei sighed. "Look if it makes you feel better you can wrap a blanket around yourself. You only really got cut on the small of your back. I need to bandage it so it can heal closed properly. If I don't it's going to open up again." Hitsugaya-sensei explained. Shichiyou looked at him surprised. He sounded so calm and his eyes were earnest. _He really wants to help me_. Shichiyou thought to herself. She took a deep breath and slid back forward.

"O-ok, but go away and I'll tell you when you can come back." She said. Hitsugaya-sensei sighed but turned around and went out of sight. Shichiyou sighed and slowly pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her shirt. She cringed and flinched as she felt the wound opening and closing on her back. She could feel small trickles of blood starting to flow from it as she moved. When she was finally out of the shirt she grabbed the blanket off the bed and wrapped it around herself, leaving enough room for Hitsugaya-sensei to get to the wound and bandage it.

"O-ok, you can come back now." She called. Hitsugaya-sensei walked back in grumbling to himself. Shichiyou sat with the blanket wrapped around her, like a child who had just come in from playing in the snow. Hitsugaya-sensei didn't say anything as he walked up to her.

"Can you turn around please? I can't exactly bandage a wound I can't see." He said.

"O-oh, right." Shichiyou said and slowly turned herself around. Lifted the blanket slightly so Hitsugaya-sensei could see the wound.

"Minimal damage. It should be healed in about two weeks." Hitsugaya-sensei picked the disinfectant up first. He put some of the clear liquid on his hand and moved it towards the wound. Shichiyou flinched before his hand even reached her.

"I haven't done anything yet." Hitsugaya-sensei said through gritted teeth.

"I-I'm sorry." Shichiyou replied. She waited and Hitsugaya-sensei finally put his hand on the wound. Shichiyou flinched slightly. The pain wasn't as bad as she figured but it still hurt. What surprised her most was that even though Hitsugaya-sensei was so angry and stern, his hand was gentle as he applied the disinfectant.

"What?" Hitsugaya-sensei demanded. Shichiyou realized she had been staring out of the corner of her eye. She quickly looked away and blushed.

"S-sorry." She replied.

"And stop apologizing." He said.

"So- I mean ok." Shichiyou replied. She started playing with her hands nervously again. She rubbed the blanket together.

"Would you stop fidgeting?" Hitsugaya-sensei asked annoyed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just nervous." Shichiyou replied.

"Stop being sorry and stop being nervous when there's nothing to be nervous about." Hitsugaya-sensei said. Shichiyou didn't answer him, she just nodded her head. Hitsugaya-sensei reached over to the table and grabbed the large roll of bandages. He pulled the clip off of it and lightly put it around the wound. He asked Shichiyou to wrap it around the front of her when he couldn't reach.

After Hitsugaya-sensei had tied the bandage closed he stood up and went towards a sink at the front. He grabbed a cloth and covered it in water. He walked over and gently applied it to Shichiyou's back to wipe away the dried blood. She flinched slightly and shivered.

"What's wrong now?" He demanded.

"N-Nothing, it's just cold." Shichiyou replied.

"Oh, never mind then." He replied. Shichiyou couldn't help but smile.

"Is that your way of saying sorry?" She asked. Hitsugaya-sensei stopped but continued thinking Shichiyou wouldn't notice.

"No, forget it." He replied. Shichiyou smiled again and giggled in spite of herself.

"Something funny?" Hitsugaya-sensei asked getting annoyed again.

"No, and thank you." Shichiyou replied. Hitsugaya-sensei stopped again but then continued anyway.

"For what?" He asked.

"For helping me." Shichiyou replied. Now Hitsugaya-sensei stopped and looked up at Shichiyou. Shichiyou turned her head and looked at him. Shock filled his eyes. Pink filled his cheeks and he looked down at the ground.

"I didn't do anything." He replied.

"Well, thank you anyway, for bandaging me up." Shichiyou smiled again. Hitsugaya-sensei suddenly stood up, turned around and went to the sink again. He started washing the cloth he had just used ad then hung it up to dry. He crossed his arms.

"There, I'm done with the bandage. Put your shirt back on, I'll be waiting outside." He said and walked out. _I think I embarrassed him_, Shichiyou thought and giggled. She stood up and examined her bandaged back in a mirror in the room. It was a pretty clean job, Hitsugaya-sensei was amazing. Shichiyou put her hands back through her sleeves and made sure it was tide tight. Once she was done she got up and left the room.

Hitsugaya-sensei was waiting for her like he said he would be.

"About time, now come on let's go." He said.

"Yes Hitsugaya-sensei." Shichiyou replied and followed Hitsugaya-sensei out of the main building. When they finally got outside the rest of the class was training on their own. Shichiyou watched them in amazement. Some of the students were so fast, while others were just plain strong.

"Wow…" Shichiyou said her eyes wide.

"Tch, practice drills. I can't believe how lazy they've all gotten." Hitsugaya-sensei muttered under his breath. Shichiyou was shocked. If this was the class when they were lazy, she really was in for it. Suddenly a familiar voice filled Shichiyou's ears.

"Shichiyou!" Shichiyou turned to see Aserisk running up to her. He was sweating slightly.

"Oh, hi Aserisk." She replied.

"Are you ok? How do you feel?" Aserisk asked grabbing Shichiyou's shoulders. He stared at her with pure concern.

Shichiyou smiled. "It's ok Aserisk, I'm fine. Just a little scratch, no big deal." Shichiyou replied trying to act as tough as she could.

Aserisk shook his head. "No I mean how are you _feeling_? You were shaking and crying before. Are you ok now?" He asked.

"Aserisk, I'm fine, really. I guess I was just…shocked from the fight. It was my first one." Aserisk smiled and sighed with relief.

"Thank God. I thought for sure you'd lost it." He said.

"Oh, thanks." Shichiyou pouted.

"Oh, Shichiyou I didn't mean it like that." Aserisk defended.

"Would you two stop it? You should be practicing not standing here making useless conversation. Move it." Shichiyou and Aserisk looked at Hitsugaya-sensei. They both turned and faced him at the same time.

"Yes Hitsugaya-sensei." They said in unison and Shichiyou followed Aserisk onto a training field. Aserisk started punching a punching bag.

"You're sure you're ok?" Aserisk asked between punches.

"Aserisk I told you I'm fine." Shichiyou replied.

"Alright just making sure." He said. Aserisk turned and kicked the bag. Shichiyou stood and watched him. His moves were so precise, so accurate. Shichiyou had never seen anything like it. Suddenly Aserisk stopped and looked at her.

"You wanna try?" He asked.

"Who, me?" Shichiyou asked pointing to herself.

"No, the imaginary person standing behind you, of course you, you idiot." Aserisk said playfully. Shichiyou blushed and pouted slightly. She then smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess so. I'm going to have to eventually." Shichiyou replied. She walked over to the punching bag and stood in front of Aserisk.

"So, what do I do?" She asked.

Aserisk laughed. "You face the bag and punch it." He replied. Shichiyou nodded and turned to the punching bag. She lifted her arms and clenched them into fists. She then pulled one fist back and brought it forward with as much force as she could muster. Shichiyou hit the bag, and shivers went through her arm and down her spine. She pulled her hand. The knuckles were bright red and stung. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes.

"Oww!" She said holding her hand.

"You idiot, you're supposed to control your punches not go all out on the first punch. It only hurts more and drains energy. Let me see." Aserisk said. He walked over and looked at Shichiyou's hand. He took it gently and examined it. Shichiyou was rubbing the tears from her eyes. Suddenly Aserisk lifted her hand and kissed the stinging knuckles.

"All better?" He asked winking. Shichiyou blushed bright red. She only nodded. Aserisk smiled. He then took her other hand and spun her around so she faced the punching bag again.

"Here you do it like this." Aserisk lifted her hands and made them into fists. He then slowly brought them forward and started showing Shichiyou the proper form for punching without tiring yourself out. Shichiyou blushed constantly through the lesson, but she was surprised at how much Aserisk knew and how much more she was learning. When Aserisk was done Shichiyou smiled brightly.

"Thanks Aserisk." She said happily.

"Hey, what are friends for?" He asked smiling. Shichiyou laughed and Aserisk laughed with her. Shichiyou was finally starting to have fun and even though she had been through a lot that morning, the academy was already starting to grow on her. _I think I'm going to like it here, I think I'm going to like it a lot_.


End file.
